# Independent Vets Surging In Idaho, Montana, Nebraska & South Dakota. Achilles Up 5 On Risch. Plus: Abbey Gate 5 Years Later: 13 Empty Seats. Zero Accountability. Media Blitz Pod

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/independent-vets-surging-in-idaho-montana-nebraska-south-dakota-achilles-up-5-on-risch-plus-abbey-gate-5-years-later-13-empty-seats-zero-accountability-media-blitz-pod
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/independent-vets-surging-in-idaho-montana-nebraska-south-dakota-achilles-up-5-on-risch-plus-abbey-gate-5-years-later-13-empty-seats-zero-accountability-media-blitz-pod.md
Podcast: [Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff](https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737)
Published: 2026-08-27T09:45:00+00:00
Episode link: https://bleav.com/shows/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff/?post_type=gp_podcast_episode&p=637
Audio file: https://pdrl.fm/c39fb6/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1385/injector.simplecastaudio.com/c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626/episodes/04bd828a-de0e-4edb-bb59-35d5717a612c/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626&awEpisodeId=04bd828a-de0e-4edb-bb59-35d5717a612c&feed=8GTvjwcf
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/episodes/independent-vets-surging-in-idaho-montana-nebraska-south-dakota-achilles-up-5-on-risch-plus-abbey-gate-5-years-later-13-empty-seats-zero-accountability-media-blitz-pod
Duration seconds: 787

## Resource

Five years after the bombing at Abbey Gate, 13 Gold Star families are still waiting for a real, bipartisan accounting of what happened during the withdrawal from Afghanistan — and of the two decades of war that led to it. Paul Rieckhoff sits down with Connell McShane on News Nation for the weekly Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Wednesday hit and refuses to let the anniversary pass as another partisan food fight. He walks through what he calls the great American betrayal of Afghanistan, the Afghan allies still hung out to dry at home and abroad, and why an honest after-action review matters more than another round of finger-pointing.

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## Transcript

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