1000’s of Afghan safety personnel, together with particular forces troops, seemingly fled to Iran with U.S. gear and navy information as their nation fell to Taliban insurgents final yr, in line with a brand new report launched by Home Republican leaders on Monday.
The 119-page doc accuses President Joe Biden’s administration of failing to adequately put together for the evacuation of Afghan allies within the months main as much as the total withdrawal of U.S. troops from the nation in August 2021. This consists of utilizing simply 36 consular officers to course of greater than 100,000 requests for evacuation.
“Regardless of a number of bipartisan appeals from members of Congress and out of doors veterans’ teams, the Biden administration demonstrated no urgency in evacuating America’s Afghan companions,” the report states.
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The authors mentioned their findings come from interviews with whistleblowers, beforehand unreleased State Division memos and interviews with people on the bottom in Afghanistan within the days main as much as the withdrawal.
It doesn’t embody any direct testimony from senior administration officers, who’ve beforehand criticized Republicans’ work on the problem as politically motivated.
State Division officers have mentioned they tried to work with GOP lawmakers to make clear lingering questions concerning the evacuation, however Republican Home leaders disputed that assertion, saying the division didn’t cooperate with their oversight work.
In an look on Face the Nation on Sunday, Rep. Mike McCaul, rating member on the Home International Affairs Committee, mentioned the findings refute White Home assertions that the chaotic withdrawal was inevitable, and that the administration did every part potential to mitigate the lives misplaced.
“There are lots of sins,” he mentioned. “There was a whole lack of a plan, and a failure to plan. … And it may have been prevented.”
Navy officers have mentioned about 124,000 Americans and Afghan allies had been evacuated within the months main as much as the top of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Greater than 80,000 of these left within the ultimate two weeks of the U.S. navy presence there.
The Republican report focuses on 1000’s of others who weren’t helped, together with greater than 3,000 Afghan safety forces believed to have fled into neighboring Iran.
An inspector common report from Could mentioned that these people may develop into precious navy property for the Iranian leaders seeking to study U.S. coaching and techniques.
“No particular prioritization standing has but been granted to any former Afghan navy personnel regardless of the safety dangers highlighted by the Biden administration’s personal State Division,” the report states.
Throughout an look on CNN Sunday, former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani blamed former President Donald Trump for the autumn of his authorities final yr, saying the deal Trump struck with Taliban leaders in February 2020 to take away all U.S. navy forces undermined the long-term safety state of affairs there.
The Republican report partially acknowledges that deal however locations many of the blame on Biden for the Taliban takeover, saying a greater plan would have given authorities fighters sufficient assist to proceed on.
McCaul mentioned in his Face the Nation look referred to as the findings “a reasonably goal report concerning the failures that had been made.”
The report’s authors mentioned extra data on missteps main as much as the Afghanistan withdrawal are nonetheless wanted to make sure that comparable errors aren’t repeated sooner or later. They’ve additionally referred to as for extra public hearings on the problem in coming months.
Democratic leaders in latest weeks have pushed again on that concept, pointing to a number of public hearings already held on the subject in late 2021 and early 2022.
Senate Armed Companies Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., earlier this month mentioned he needs lawmakers to observe by way of with plans for a nonpartisan fee established final yr to conduct a radical research into “all issues” regarding the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, from the 2001 invasion to the 2021 withdrawal.
The one-year anniversary of the total U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is Aug. 30. The mid-term congressional elections are scheduled for Nov. 8.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White Home for Navy Instances. He has lined Washington, D.C. since 2004, specializing in navy personnel and veterans insurance policies. His work has earned quite a few honors, together with a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 Nationwide Headliner Award, the IAVA Management in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
