Chaotic Afghan Withdrawal: US House Republican to Release Long Awaited Report on Monday

The long-awaited report by the U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 will be released on Monday. 

It is the result of a three-year investigation led by Representative Michael McCaul, Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The report contends that President Joe Biden administration made its decision to evacuate noncombatants far too late, formally ordering it only on Aug. 16, failed to communicate between departments in Washington and among officials in Afghanistan, and botched the paperwork for the departure of Afghan civilians eligible to leave the country.

“America’s credibility on the world stage was severely damaged after we abandoned Afghan allies to Taliban reprisal killings — the people of Afghanistan we had promised to protect,” the report said. “And the moral injury to America’s veterans and those still serving remains a stain on this administration’s legacy.

The withdrawal has become intensely politicized ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election. 

The Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, recently shot a video for his campaign at Arlington National Cemetery where he appeared at a ceremony honoring troops killed in the evacuation. 

Trump has also attacked Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the exit from Afghanistan during campaign appearances, blaming them personally for the deaths at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate. 

On Aug. 26, 2021, as U.S. forces were trying to help Americans and Afghans flee as the Islamist Taliban movement took control of the country, a suicide attack at the Abbey Gate entrance to Kabul’s airport killed 13 Americans, compounding the U.S. sense of defeat after two decades of war.

Source: Reuters