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This week, I released a historic, comprehensive report detailing my three-year investigation into the Biden-Harris administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
My investigation revealed the administration had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, so we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, legal permanent residents, and our brave Afghan allies. At each step of the way, however, the administration picked optics over security.
As a result of the administration’s failure to plan for all contingencies, the U.S. government conducted an emergency evacuation without the necessary personnel, supplies, and equipment. The administration’s dereliction of duty placed U.S. servicemembers and U.S. State Department personnel in mortal danger, where the Taliban – our sworn enemy – became the first line of defense. This led to the brutal terrorist attack murdering 13 U.S. servicemembers and 170 Afghans on August 26, 2021, injuring 45 U.S. servicemembers and countless Afghans.
The fact is that this was preventable.
In the aftermath of the withdrawal, America’s credibility on the world stage was severely damaged after we abandoned Afghan allies to Taliban reprisal killings — the people of Afghanistan we had promised to protect. And the moral injury to America’s veterans and those still serving remains a stain on this administration’s legacy. Troublingly, U.S. national security was degraded as Afghanistan once again became a haven for terrorists, including al Qaeda and ISIS-K. Just three months ago, we found out ISIS-K illegally crossed our southern border and into the United States.
Read my full report here.
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