Republican report in the US House of Representatives blames Joe Biden for chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (Republican, Texas) speaks to reporters about his panel’s Afghanistan report and the findings of its three-year investigation into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. He is joined by the families of service members killed by a Taliban bomber during the evacuation. | Photo credit: AP

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday released a scathing report on their investigation into the Taliban’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, blaming President Joe Biden’s administration for the disastrous end to America’s longest war and downplaying the role of former President Donald Trump, who signed the withdrawal agreement with the Taliban.

The partisan report details the final months of military and civilian failures following Trump’s February 2020 withdrawal agreement, which allowed America’s enemies, the fundamentalist Taliban, to march through and conquer the country even before the last U.S. officials flew out on August 30, 2021. The chaotic withdrawal left many American citizens, Afghan allies on the battlefield, women’s rights activists and others at risk from the Taliban.

But the House Republicans’ report hardly breaks new ground, as the withdrawal has already been scrutinized in detail in several independent investigations. Previous investigations and analyses have pointed to a systemic failure spanning the last four presidencies and concluded that Biden and Trump bear the brunt of the blame.

Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, who led the investigation as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Republican investigation shows that the Biden administration “had the information and the ability to take the necessary steps to plan the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government so that we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, green card holders and our brave Afghan allies.”

“However, at every step of the way, the government has prioritized optics over safety,” he said in a statement.

Sharon Yang, a White House spokeswoman, said the Republican report was based on “handpicked facts, inaccurate characterizations and preconceived opinions.”

“Because of the bad deal former President Trump made with the Taliban to leave Afghanistan by May 2021, President Biden has inherited an untenable position,” Yang said in a statement. “Either intensify the U.S. war against the strengthened Taliban or end it.”

In a statement, House Democrats said their Republican colleagues’ report ignored facts about Mr Trump’s role.

A 2023 report by a U.S. government watchdog in Afghanistan highlighted Trump’s February 2020 agreement with the Taliban, in which he committed to withdrawing all American forces and military contractors by spring of next year, and highlighted the determination of both Trump and Biden to continue the withdrawal of U.S. troops despite the Taliban’s breach of key commitments under the withdrawal agreement.

The Republican investigation, which lasted more than 18 months, focused on the months before the US troop withdrawal and concluded that Biden and his administration undermined senior officials and ignored warnings as the Taliban took key cities much faster than most US officials expected or prepared for.

The withdrawal ended a nearly two-decade-long occupation by U.S. and allied forces aimed at ousting al-Qaida fighters responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. territory. The Taliban had allowed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to find refuge in Afghanistan. Committee staff noted reports that the group has been rebuilding in Afghanistan since the U.S. withdrawal, including a U.N. report of up to eight al-Qaida training camps there.

The Taliban overthrew an Afghan government and army that had cost the United States nearly 20 years and trillions of dollars to build.

With Biden not seeking re-election, Trump and his Republican allies have sought to make withdrawal a campaign issue against Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now Trump’s Democratic opponent in the presidential race.

The House Republicans’ report points to Ms Harris’ overall responsibility as an adviser to Mr Biden, but does not identify any specific advice or actions by Ms Harris that contributed to the many failures.

Character ignored

According to earlier reports, Trump also implemented the first steps under the withdrawal agreement, reducing the troop presence from around 13,000 to an eventual 2,500 troops, despite the Taliban’s initial refusal to comply with some parts of the agreement and increasing Taliban attacks on Afghan forces.

The House report blames a longtime U.S. diplomat for Afghanistan, former ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, rather than Mr. Trump, for the Trump administration’s handling of negotiations with the Taliban. The new report says Mr. Trump followed the recommendations of American military leaders and drastically reduced the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the deal was signed.

The report also addresses the vulnerability of U.S. embassy staff in Kabul as the Biden administration planned its withdrawal. Republicans claim the Biden administration “dogmatically insisted” on maintaining a large diplomatic presence despite concerns about the lack of security for personnel after U.S. forces left.

General Frank McKenzie, one of two U.S. generals overseeing the evacuation, told lawmakers that the government’s insistence on keeping the embassy fully operational was the “fatal mistake that led to the events in August,” the report said.

The report claims that State Department officials even went so far as to downplay or “even completely rewrite” reports from diplomatic security and Defense Department heads that had warned of threats to U.S. personnel.

“We were still in the planning phase” when Kabul fell, Carol Perez, acting U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary for Management at the time of the withdrawal, testified before the committee.