Staff Reports
The House Foreign Affairs Committee, under GOP leadership, has issued a searing indictment of the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, timed to conveniently coincide with the three-year anniversary of that disastrous exit. The report lays bare what many already suspected: the tragic death of 13 U.S. service members could have been avoided had the White House made prudent decisions instead of being fixated on public optics.
The findings highlight that President Biden’s decision to withdraw all American troops wasn’t driven by the actual security situation in Afghanistan, the terms of the Doha Agreement, or even the advice of seasoned national security advisors and allied nations. No, it turns out the decision was rooted in Biden’s long-held belief that U.S. troops should no longer be in Afghanistan, regardless of the repercussions of such an abrupt pullout.
House GOP highlights administration failings in report on botched Afghanistan withdrawal https://t.co/ERb0tFOrfg
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) September 9, 2024
What’s particularly galling is the committee’s assertion that the Biden administration seemed more worried about how a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) would play out on the evening news rather than addressing the real dangers of failing to implement one. The report claims that there was an underlying fear that launching a NEO would equate to an admission of failure, as if the optics of being perceived as weak mattered more than the lives of American personnel.
Naturally, the White House didn’t take too kindly to the report, describing it as a collection of cherry-picked facts and biases that the GOP has allegedly harbored throughout this investigation. The spokesperson for the administration argued that ending this prolonged conflict was a necessary step and that the Biden administration was left with an untenable position due to the “bad deal” orchestrated by former President Trump. The implication is that Biden merely inherited a mess and had little choice.
House Speaker Mike Johnson didn’t hold back in criticizing the administration’s mishandling of the withdrawal. He claimed the report paints a damning image of leaders who are more interested in their image than ensuring the safety and accountability of American personnel. His remarks included the sorry state of Afghanistan post-withdrawal, where the Taliban has regained control, terrorists are feeling bold, and billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment has been left behind as if the American taxpayer was merely footing the bill for a yard sale.
Johnson’s passionate defense of those who lost their lives and the allies left in the lurch signals that Republicans are not going to roll over and allow the Biden-Harris administration to rewrite history regarding this catastrophe. With the presidential debate looming between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, one can expect the Afghanistan withdrawal fiasco to take center stage, reminding viewers that mistakes of this magnitude have lasting consequences for America and its role in the world.
