The Republican-led panel blames Biden, Harris, Blinken, and Sullivan for mismanagement and a cover-up. Democrats pushed aside claims as election-year posturing.
The Republican-led Space Overseas Affairs Committee has launched findings from its three-year probe into america’ chaotic August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Democrat committee participants have issued their very own minority body of workers memorandum at the investigation.
The committee’s document puts accountability for occasions main as much as the Aug. 26, 2021, Abbey Gate bombing—which left greater than 180 useless, together with 13 U.S. provider participants—on President Joe Biden and his White Space advisers.
“Relatively, it used to be premised on his longstanding and unyielding opinion that america will have to now not be in Afghanistan.”
The document alleges that the Biden management “prioritized the optics of the withdrawal over the protection of U.S. body of workers at the flooring.”
“Because it puts the beginning of the withdrawal within the Trump management, this narrative isn’t a neat political device with which to assail the Biden management,” the memo states.
The AAR cited “the choices of each President Trump and President Biden to finish the U.S. army project in Afghanistan” as having “critical penalties for the viability of the Afghan govt and its safety.”
White Space spokesperson Sharon Yang stated in a observation that the Republican-led document used to be according to “cherry-picked info, misguided characterizations, and preexisting biases.”
The Republican document says that committee Democrats, State Division officers, and the White Space resisted efforts to analyze the bungled withdrawal, an deadlock that persevered till Republicans regained the Space after the 2022 midterms.
The document problems 5 conclusions and 23 suggestions for making plans noncombatant emergency evacuations.
“The Biden–Harris management used to be made up our minds to withdraw from Afghanistan, without or with the Doha Settlement and regardless of the fee,” the document states. “Accordingly, they overlooked the stipulations within the Doha Settlement, pleas of the Afghan govt, and the objections by means of our NATO allies, deciding to unilaterally withdraw from the rustic.”
The document says the management “failed to plot for all contingencies, together with a noncombatant emergency evacuation (NEO) and refused to reserve a NEO till after the Taliban had already entered Kabul.”
The following chaos “created an unsafe setting” at Hamad Karzai World Airport in Kabul, the document states. It alleges that Biden’s rejection of recommendation to take care of 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan price america the usage of the more-stable Bagram Air Base, constructed and regulated by means of america, and necessitated the usage of the civilian airport.
“Within the aftermath of the withdrawal, U.S. nationwide safety used to be degraded as Afghanistan as soon as once more changed into a haven for terrorists, together with al Qaeda and ISIS-Okay,” the document states.
The committee research holds that the management used to be no longer clear about its movements in August 2021 and “at each level of the withdrawal, from sooner than the go-to-zero order till lately.”
At a White Space briefing at the afternoon of Sept. 9, Nationwide Safety Council spokesman John Kirby spoke back to the document, pronouncing “there used to be no level” in securing Bagram Air Base to be used all through the evacuation. Doing so would have required “1000’s of extra U.S. troops,” he stated, and “would have required a perilous trek for evacuees over Taliban-controlled territory.”
Kirby stated that “there used to be no deception, mendacity, or loss of transparency by means of this management both all through or after the withdrawal.”
“We cooperated broadly on this investigation and we proceed to paintings with the Battle Fee,” he stated.
At a information briefing following the document’s liberate, Space Overseas Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) stated that he believes that the autumn of Afghanistan emboldened U.S. adversaries and resulted in next international unrest, together with the Ukraine battle.
“This isn’t political,” he stated.
“I intend to proceed this investigation after the election, no longer in a partisan manner, however since the American other people deserve the reality in order that this by no means, ever occurs once more.”
The Related Press contributed to this document.