Republicans Seek to Remind R.N.C. Viewers About Deadly Afghanistan Withdrawal
New York TimesJul 18
Senior Investigator in Afghanistan Withdrawal Probe Resigns
Above: US Air Force loadmasters and pilots load passengers aboard a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 24, 2021, in Kabul. Image copyright: Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/US Air Forces Europe-Africa/ Handout/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Jerry Dunleavy, a senior investigator at the GOP-led House Foreign Affairs Committee, has resigned from the probe into the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Dunleavy alleged that the committee had failed to make Pres. Joe Biden and senior military and White House officials "answer for the horrors which unfolded & continue to unfold in Afghanistan."
The Spin
Right narrative
This sudden departure confirms what many have already feared: the House Foreign Affairs Committee is working on a whitewash and has failed to hold those in power accountable. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was the nadir of the Biden administration, and the president holds personal responsibility for the lives lost and damage caused. The incompetence on display from upper brass must be fully exposed.
Left narrative
Republicans are chasing shadows in the Afghanistan probe, as the hawkish GOP that got Washington into Afghanistan blames everyone but themselves for the rushed departure. The US couldn't afford to be stuck in a forever war in Afghanistan, and there were no options to stem the loss of lives and resources other than pulling the plug. The GOP is in disarray, and the committee's probe lacks seriousness and focus.