House Republicans released the outcomes of a comprehensive three-year investigation on Monday, presenting it as the most detailed public account of the Biden administration's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. This withdrawal left hundreds of Americans and thousands of allies behind, with some so desperate to escape that they clung to U.S. planes as the last military aircraft departed Kabul in 2021. Led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, the investigation relied on interviews with 18 top officials and 20,000 pages of documents.
The report holds the White House, the National Security Council, and the State Department responsible for not heeding warnings from military generals about the security situation worsening rapidly once U.S. troops began to withdraw. Interestingly, the investigation found no evidence that Vice President Kamala Harris played any direct role in the planning or execution of the evacuation. Harris had publicly supported President Joe Biden's decision at the time. Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have suggested Harris is culpable due to her past comments about being the 'last person in the room' when Biden decided on the Afghanistan exit.
Trump criticized Harris and Biden during a recent speech, attributing the collapse of American credibility around the world to their decisions. In response, the Biden administration has dismissed the Republican probe as a partisan effort selectively presenting facts ahead of an election. The report also comes ahead of the first political debate between Harris and Trump, where more criticism from the GOP is expected. McCaul emphasized the lasting damage to U.S. credibility among allies and the emboldenment of adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran. Despite the chaos in August 2021, he noted, no one has been held accountable by Biden or Harris.
McCaul has subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken's testimony and threatened contempt if Blinken does not testify. A State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said Blinken has already provided extensive documentation and testimony and suggested alternative dates for a hearing. Miller accused Republicans of politicizing the war and presenting inaccurate narratives, expressing pride in State Department efforts to evacuate Americans and brave Afghans.
Some intriguing details from the Republican report include inside-the-room accounts from U.S. Embassy personnel. Staff, panicked by the hurried evacuation, at one point filled Tupperware containers with passports and visa foils to burn as Taliban forces approached. Classified documents were reportedly abandoned in the disarray. The NSC, according to the report, failed to establish consistent criteria for evacuation eligibility, at times changing hourly. Electronic visa letters, or 'hall passes,' were even counterfeited before the plan was scrapped.
Ambassador Ross Wilson, the top American diplomat in Kabul during the withdrawal, was reportedly reluctant to trigger a military-led evacuation. Wilson has previously spoken about the frantic efforts to process travel documents in those final days. Biden defended the operation, highlighting the around-the-clock efforts to provide Americans opportunities to leave. Democrats argue that options were limited following Trump's deal with the Taliban, which mandated U.S. troop withdrawal and the release of 5,000 Taliban fighters.
White House spokesperson Sharon Yang stated that Biden had to choose between escalating the war or ending it, ultimately deciding to end America's longest war. Military generals had recommended maintaining 2,500 troops regardless of Trump's agreement, emphasizing the U.S. failure to forge a nation despite building an army and a state. General Mark Milley testified that the situation at the end of 20 years was a strategic failure, with the enemy occupying Kabul and the military fading away. Testimony from top U.S. generals paints the picture of an exceedingly complex and chaotic exit from Afghanistan.
