Veterans and local leaders are expressing their concerns about the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan.

“I think it’s an absolute disgrace that we’re pulling out, and that we made the announcement we’re pulling out," says Dawn, a Gold Star mom. “It’s like ringing the dinner bell for them.”

U.S. Army veteran Chris Levi tells News 12, “My thoughts go out for all the people have who sacrificed and have put in a lot of honest hard work, and their lives, blood, sweat into trying to give Afghanistan its own independence.”

Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin called the situation “a historic, epic failure of leadership, of planning and execution”. 

Many today are expressing concerns about what this means for stability in the region and the possibility of future acts of terrorism.

Veterans, local leaders and residents are expressing their concerns about the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan.

Nassau County resident Wazma Wardack Hassan escaped Afghanistan decades ago and still has relatives there. The founder for Afghan Americans of New York says she is heartbroken. “It’s a very difficult time for all Afghans. First generation or second, it’s still your motherland."

“I think it’s an absolute disgrace that we’re pulling out, and that we made the announcement we’re pulling out," says Dawn Esposito, a Gold Star mom. “It’s like ringing the dinner bell for them.” 

Her 22-year-old son, Army Sgt. Michael Esposito, of Brentwood, was the first soldier from Long Island to be killed in the war in Afghanistan.

U.S. Army veteran from Melville Chris Levi tells News 12, “My thoughts go out for all the people have who sacrificed and have put in a lot of honest hard work, and their lives, blood, sweat into trying to give Afghanistan its own independence.”

Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin called the situation “a historic, epic failure of leadership, of planning and execution."

Esposito and Levi, like many, worry what Taliban rule will mean for American security. Levi says, “They could mount a very large threat, or danger to America from where they are."

The initial U.S. invasion in 2001 drove the Taliban from power and scattered al-Qaida, which had planned the 9/11 attacks.

Over the last 20 years, more than 3,500 American and allied troops have died in Afghanistan.