Axios is reported that Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, is requesting documentation and declassification of materials from several agencies involved. One of the questions the House Republicans are interested in answering is whether or not the Biden Administration illegally obstructed the official watchdog overseeing Afghanistan reconstruction.
Republicans are also seeking information about planning and communication about the withdrawal and any contingency plans, about troop withdrawal, including the rationale for removing air support before the evacuation of U.S. citizens, about Operation Allies Welcome, and the vetting and relocation process for refugees.
A Republican oversight aide told Axios that they are chiefly focused on the decision to conduct the airlift out of the commercial Hamid Karzai International Airport and allow the Taliban to be in charge of airport perimeter security.
Though loaded with political ramifications, the majority of Americans supported President Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, and there was strong bipartisan support for evacuating some Afghans as well, but a majority disapprove of the Biden Administration’s handling of the withdrawal and believe the administration was unprepared for the events that transpired along with the withdrawal, such as the collapse of the Afghan army and the Taliban’s quick takeover, according to a Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Ipsos poll.
At the end of August 2021, the last American soldier withdrew from Afghanistan, as per the Biden administration’s plan. The human cost was great: 47,245 Afghan civilians killed, 2,461 American service members killed, 3,846 U.S. contractors killed, and 66,000 Afghan national military and police killed.
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