Republican lawmakers have issued a damning report accusing the Biden administration of misleading the American public during the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. The report suggests that the administration’s failures endangered U.S. troops and even implicates Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
The detailed investigation, led by Texas Congressman Michael McCaul, claims the Biden team “misled and, at times, directly lied to the American people” throughout the withdrawal process. The report specifically connects these alleged failings to the tragic bombing at Kabul’s Abbey Gate, which resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. soldiers.
McCaul’s findings come after a two-year investigation into the withdrawal, which has been highly criticized by many Republicans. The report was released just days before Harris is scheduled to debate former President Donald Trump. Trump’s campaign has also pointed to the Afghanistan pull-out as a factor that weakened the United States’ global standing and may have emboldened Russia to invade Ukraine.
The report, which spans nearly 350 pages, refers to the “Biden-Harris administration” more than 230 times, placing direct responsibility on both the President and Vice President. According to the findings, senior officials ignored warnings about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and failed to prepare for worst-case scenarios.
While Republicans have rallied behind the report, Democrats have dismissed it as a politically motivated attack. Congressman Gregory Meeks, a Democrat and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the report for omitting critical evidence, such as the likelihood of renewed combat with the Taliban if the U.S. had not continued the withdrawal. Meeks also suggested the report was timed to disrupt the presidential race, given its release so close to the election.
A White House spokesperson, Sharon Yang, responded to the report, accusing Republicans of cherry-picking facts and distorting the truth. Yang emphasized that President Biden inherited a difficult situation due to the deal former President Trump made with the Taliban, which set a deadline for U.S. withdrawal by May 2021. She argued that Biden was left with only two options: escalate the war or end it.
Republicans, however, maintain that Biden ignored the Taliban’s failure to meet key conditions of the agreement and disregarded the advice of his military advisors. The report also faulted Trump’s administration, particularly U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, for making excessive concessions to the Taliban during negotiations. Still, most of the blame was directed toward the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal after taking office.
The release of the report has raised questions about its timing, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggesting that it was politically motivated, aimed at influencing the 2024 election. McCaul has denied this, stating that the investigation faced significant delays due to what he described as obstruction by the Biden administration.
While the State Department’s own 2023 review criticized both the Trump and Biden administrations for the hasty withdrawal, the Republican report places the lion’s share of blame on Biden. The fallout from the report is likely to be a key point of contention in the upcoming presidential debates, with Harris facing increased scrutiny over her involvement in the withdrawal decision.
As the 2024 election approaches, the withdrawal from Afghanistan continues to be a flashpoint in American politics, with both parties seeking to assign blame and defend their actions.