A White House official is under fire for appearing to trivialize the concerns of veterans who criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

John Kirby, the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, mistakenly sent a dismissive response to a Fox News inquiry to the entire recipient list instead of just White House staffers.

In his accidental reply-all email, Kirby appeared to downplay the concerns raised by veterans on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, writing, “Obviously no use in responding. A ‘handful’ of vets indeed and all of one stripe.”

Fox News had contacted the White House on Wednesday afternoon with comments from four veterans, including Representative Cory Mills (R-FL), who were displeased with Kirby’s statements during a recent press conference. These veterans accused Kirby of “deflecting” from the administration’s mismanagement of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.

Mills was quoted as saying, “The bottom line is that the Biden-Harris administration chose politics over strategy, and Kirby, who I wouldn’t trust to guard my grocery list, is now trying to cover for them.”

The controversy arose following the release of a report by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Representative Mike McCaul (R-TX), which disputed the administration’s narrative that the chaotic withdrawal was primarily the result of an agreement made by former President Donald Trump.

The report highlighted failures in planning to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies and an inadequate response to terror threats, which culminated in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and over 150 Afghan civilians.

The report also noted that the withdrawal left behind $7 billion worth of U.S. weapons and equipment and $57 million provided to the Afghan government before the Taliban’s takeover.

President Biden had announced in April 2021 his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. Following the release of the House report, Kirby defended the administration’s actions at a White House briefing, asserting that President Biden had faced a difficult choice: to either honor what he called a “flawed agreement” and end America’s longest war or to extend the conflict.

“President Biden, for his part, faced a stark choice when he came to office: Abide by the flawed agreement and end America’s longest war, or blow up the deal, extend the war, and see a much smaller contingent of American troops back in combat with the Taliban,” Kirby stated. “He chose the former and was able to buy additional time to prepare for that withdrawal all the way into summer, and we, as a nation, are safer for it.”