DALLAS — After three years of investigation, Congressman Michael McCaul, R-Austin, finally released his anticipated report on the Biden Administration’s chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Congressman McCaul chairs the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, which led the Congressional investigation.
The Republican says a “fatal flaw” in President Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal plan was the fact that as the United States withdrew troops in 2021, it did not simultaneously withdraw diplomats and their families, which left them exposed and in danger.
McCaul argues that no withdrawal plan for those diplomats kicked in until the Taliban had overrun the Capital of Kabul and by then, the Chairman says it was too late.
“The bottom line here, and goal, is to make sure this never happens again,” the Republican told us on Inside Texas Politics.
McCaul’s report also says the Biden Administration ignored warnings, never prepared for the collapse of the country’s government, and gave the Taliban too much credit as legitimate negotiating partners.
After the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban quickly assumed control of the country after the American-backed Afghan government crumbled.
Members of both parties have criticized the withdrawal, which also left behind billions of dollars of American military equipment and tens of millions of dollars in cash.
The report also points out security failures that led to a bombing outside of Kabul’s international airport during the evacuation that killed 185 people, including 13 American troops.
The White House and Democrats say the report is partisan and focuses too much on the Biden Administration’s role while ignoring the Trump Administration, which critics say had already cut a bad deal with the Taliban which hamstrung Biden’s team.
Chairman McCaul says he is frequently asked about the timing of the report’s release, less than two months before the election.
The Republican says this was not his timetable.
“The timing is a result of not being able to get documents, witness testimony, having to serve subpoenas,” he argued. “It took me eight months to get Jen Psaki to testify. Secretary Blinken is still refusing to testify, even though I’ve served a subpoena, and I will threaten him with contempt.”
Psaki is a former White House Press Secretary under President Biden.
And McCaul wants Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to testify before the committee sometime in September.
Ultimately, the Chairman hopes the report leads to legislative or policy solutions.
“We need legislation that provides direct guidance as to who’s in charge, what needs to be done, when the plan needs to be executed. All those things were missing. There was no plan. And that’s why you saw what you saw,” Congressman McCaul told us.