US veterans who served in Afghanistan are left disappointed and heartbroken by Taliban takeover: “I almost feel the same anger I felt on 9/11 all over again’

• The Taliban took over Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan on Sunday.
• The news struck a chord with US veterans who spent years on the ground trying to protect Afghans.
• Vets told Insider that the rapid takeover made them emotional and that political leaders failed them and Afghan allies.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Jen Burch, an Air Force vet who deployed to Afghanistan from September 2010 to March 2011, said she has seen the "absolute worst of war." During her time there, she served as a volunteer working with the trauma team in the hospital to help the wounded fighting for their lives.

"I also volunteered in mass casualty events and saw a lot of deaths, the most gruesome parts of death," Burch told Insider. "And when I came home, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I have night terrors still to this day, 10 years later, I can wake up in the middle of the night screaming and probably at least once a week."

Burch said she had spent the last several days processing her emotions after news broke that the Taliban gained control over Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, last weekend and grim videos showing chaos on the ground as thousands of Afghans attempted to flee the city. She called the situation "heartbreaking."

"I definitely have been shedding some tears off and on just watching the stories unfold out of there," Burch said, adding that the news has triggered "faces" and smells" that she hasn't thought about in years with the help of therapy.

"It's frustrating, I'm upset, I have anger and just getting hit by a wave of emotions right now," she added.

The Taliban's rapid insurgency across Afghanistan comes after President Joe Biden's administration withdrew remaining troops from the country, making room for the Taliban to make a move. Despite the criticism on how his administration carried out the withdrawal, Biden doubled down on his decision and blamed the country's leadership for the catastrophic fallout.

While political leaders have debated what went wrong, Burch said veterans aren't solely pointing a finger at Biden's decision to pull US military troops out of Afghanistan.

"Most of us aren't complaining about ending the war. We're upset and frustrated because of the way that it's been executed and that a lot of this what happened shouldn't have happened and could have been prevented," Burch said." It just feels completely disorganized and like he's completely failed us."

US veterans, including Burch, have also called out America's inadequacy to protect Afghan interpreters and allies amid fears of retaliation from the Taliban.

"We promised them safety and now I worry as the Taliban goes door to door and trying to find all the Afghans that have helped the government and so forth, what's going to happen to them. What's going to happen to their families," Burch said.

-Jen Burch (@_jenburch) August 16, 2021

Dr. Tony Brooks, a former Army Ranger who was deployed in Afghanistan during the summer of 2005 and author of "Leave No Man Behind," told Insider he's "at a point where not only am I extremely disappointed in how our political leadership handled it."

"I'm a bit angry," Brooks said. "I almost feel the same anger I felt on 9/11 all over again and it's bothersome."

The Taliban takeover renewed fears of ruthless attacks on women and their rights under the militant group's regime. On Tuesday, a leader of the group reportedly suggested women joined its government, leaving many to be leery based on their past actions. Since their new reign, more women have been staying indoors, and those who do step out, are dressed in conservative attire, as CNN reported.

Brooks said based on his experience, he knows "what the Taliban is capable of" and has gone through "every single emotion" over the past few days.

"I went from being happy that troops were coming home to disappointment seeing that maybe it was all for nothing to sadness," Brooks said. He added that he felt "a lot of sadness just for the people of Afghanistan and the Gold Star Families and specifically the women of Afghanistan - women, and children."

He added: "There's a 20-year-old girl somewhere out there that was born after the war had started, had freedom her whole life and now she's going to be under Taliban rule, which she has never experienced. I just can't even imagine being that 19 or 20-year-old young woman that's gone through school, is educated, is about to make a life and now she's going to be forced to do something that she probably doesn't want to do."

Brooks, like many veterans, has looked back on the 20-year war, the thousands of US casualties and billions of dollars spent, and questioned its worth.

"We went over there to rid the world of the Taliban. To watch them come back that fast, it feels like a complete waste of time," Brooks said."It was very disheartening. I don't even really care about the money, it's all the work and all the lives that were lost and changed forever."