The Home Oversight Committee on Friday despatched letters to high Biden administration officers demanding details about the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021.
“The Biden administration was tragically unprepared for the Afghanistan withdrawal and their choices within the area straight resulted in a nationwide safety and humanitarian disaster,” committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., stated in an announcement.
“The American folks deserve solutions and the Biden administration’s ongoing obstruction of this investigation is unacceptable,” he stated.
Comer issued the assertion as he and the chairs of a number of subcommittees despatched letters demanding data, paperwork and communications concerning the withdrawal to Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees Gen. Mark Milley, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan, Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth Administrator Samantha Energy.
After nearly 20 years of combating, U.S. forces pulled out of Afghanistan in August of 2021. The evacuation obtained ugly within the conflict’s last weeks, because the Afghanistan authorities collapsed and the U.S. scrambled to evacuate hundreds of People and Afghan allies and, a terrorist assault left 13 service members and lots of of civilians useless.
“U.S. servicemen and girls misplaced their lives, People had been deserted, taxpayer {dollars} are unaccounted for, the Taliban gained entry to army tools, progress for Afghan girls was derailed, and the complete space is now below hostile Taliban management,” Comer stated. “Each related division and company needs to be ready to cooperate and supply all requested data.”
In a press launch that included his assertion, Comer complained that Home Democrats by no means held a listening to on the withdrawal after they managed the committee, though the Home Armed Companies Committee held a hearing on the topic in September of 2021 which included testimony from Austin and Milley. Blinken testified concerning the withdrawal earlier than the Home International Companies Committee, and a number of Senate committee held hearings as properly.
Milley acknowledged in his testimony that the U.S. was caught off-guard by the swift fall of the U.S.-backed Afghan authorities.
“We completely missed the fast, 11-day collapse of the Afghan army and the Afghan authorities,” he stated.
NBC Information has reached out to the State Division and Division of Protection for touch upon Comer’s requests.
Almost 2,500 service members and three,800 U.S. contractors had been killed over the span of the almost 20-year conflict.
