The findings from a three-year probe by the Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee into the chaotic August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan place blame on President Joe Biden and his White House advisers for the events leading up to the Abbey Gate bombing. The report accuses the Biden administration of prioritizing optics over the security of U.S. personnel on the ground.
In response, House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats issued a memorandum countering the Republican-led report, calling it a “predetermined, partisan narrative” released “in the heat of an election season.”
The investigation included seven public hearings and roundtables and 18 transcribed narratives from decision-makers involved in the operation, along with an analysis of over 20,000 pages of documents. The report issued five conclusions and 23 recommendations for planning noncombatant emergency evacuations.
Despite the blame placed on the Biden administration in the report, a White House spokesperson dismissed it as being based on “cherry-picked facts, inaccurate characterizations, and preexisting biases.”
The report also states that the administration failed to plan for contingencies and ignored advice to maintain troops in Afghanistan, leading to a degraded U.S. national security situation. The committee analysis accuses the administration of lacking transparency at every stage of the withdrawal.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul emphasized the need for continued investigation after the election to uncover the truth and prevent similar events from occurring in the future.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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