New House GOP report claims Biden officials minimized warnings on deteriorating security before Afghan withdrawal

A scathing report by House Republicans criticized the Biden administration for not planning an evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies in the months leading up to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The report accuses President Biden and his deputies of reducing troop levels, keeping a large embassy staff in place, and failing to prepare evacuation plans. The Democrats dismissed the report as partisan and claim it was timed for political effect. Both Trump and Biden share responsibility for the Afghanistan debacle, as Trump reduced troop levels and Biden bungled the withdrawal execution. The report highlighted failures by the White House and State Department to plan for an emergency evacuation and to promptly order an evacuation once circumstances deteriorated. Despite warnings from U.S. officials in Kabul, their concerns were downplayed, and memos were sanitized. The report criticized the State Department for not defining the size of the Afghan population eligible for evacuation or how their cases could be handled. The report also criticized Trump for reducing troop levels and trusting the Taliban’s promises despite evidence to the contrary. The focus was on the lack of planning for an emergency evacuation of Americans and Afghans and the failure to prioritize and evacuate Afghan embassy staff during the chaotic withdrawal. These failures led to the Abbey Gate bombing, where 170 civilians and 13 U.S. military personnel were killed by a suicide bomber.

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