RASC News Agency: Michael McCaul, Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, has formally identified fifteen senior U.S. officials as responsible for the “disastrous” withdrawal from Afghanistan. Among those McCaul held accountable were President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Secretaries of Defense and State, as well as Zalmay Khalilzad. On Wednesday, September 25, McCaul addressed the U.S. House of Representatives, lambasting the Biden administration for celebrating what he described as a “fatal” withdrawal of U.S. forces as a success, rather than acknowledging the magnitude of their errors. He labeled the decision to withdraw all U.S. troops, which led to the collapse of Afghanistan, as “the most catastrophic foreign policy failure in U.S. history.”
McCaul further criticized the Biden-Harris administration for disregarding multiple crucial warnings: the Taliban’s blatant violation of the Doha Agreement, opposition from U.S. military and intelligence commanders, and objections from NATO allies. Among the officials McCaul named for their roles in the decision-making process were National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer, Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
Additional individuals on McCaul’s list included former Deputy Secretary of State Brian McKeon, former U.S. Ambassador to Kabul Ross Wilson, former State Department spokesperson Ned Price, Garret Schake, Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense, and Colin Kahl, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. McCaul urged Congress to ensure that these senior officials are held accountable, stating, “If the Biden administration refuses to face the consequences of its decisions, then Congress must intervene.” He emphasized his contention that instead of holding individuals responsible for the “tragic” Afghanistan withdrawal, the Biden administration had actually promoted them.
The committee’s report also concluded that President Biden made the decision to withdraw without adequately consulting key U.S. agencies, instead focusing on political calculations. The report underscored the administration’s failure to establish effective coordination between government agencies in Washington and officials on the ground in Afghanistan. In a press briefing on September 9, following the release of the committee’s findings, McCaul criticized the Biden administration for lacking any concrete plan to evacuate civilians up until Kabul’s collapse, describing the entire withdrawal strategy as “planning for failure.”
