Ex-Military Officials Tell Congress That Afghanistan Withdrawal Was ‘Too Slow, Too Late’
One AmericaMar 06
Report: US State Dept. at Fault for Afghanistan Withdrawal
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The Facts
Transcripts of the closed-door interviews of three US Dept. of State officials regarding the Aug. 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan have been revealed. The testimony comes from the House Foreign Affairs Committee probe of the withdrawal.
The three officials, John Bass, Jim DeHart, and Jayne Howell, said that while plans for a "noncombatant evacuation operation" began in April or May 2021, no such blueprint was in place when they arrived the following August after the Taliban took over Kabul.
The Spin
Republican narrative
The revelations from these testimonies have already exposed Biden's failures, but it's important to note that these witnesses were approved by the White House to speak to the committee. Biden put completely inexperienced State Department personnel in charge of an incredibly fragile situation — imagine what revelations would emerge if the committee was allowed to enquire about the people Biden has not approved to speak.
Democratic narrative
Recent reports have certainly cast a shadow over the Biden State Department, but it's important to remember that the plans for a troop withdrawal were established under the Trump administration. In 2020, before Biden took office, Trump made a deal with the Taliban that led to the eventual confusion during the 2021 withdrawal. This was a terrible tragedy for America, but to blame the Biden administration that was forced between a rock and a hard place is unfair.
