RASC News Agency: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has confirmed that the official findings of the Special Task Force investigating the chaotic and catastrophic withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan will be released imminently. The announcement comes amid persistent domestic and international outrage over the hasty 2021 pullout, which plunged Afghanistan into the grip of Taliban rule and triggered one of the most devastating humanitarian crises of the 21st century. Speaking during a televised interview with Fox News on Monday, Hegseth responded to mounting calls for accountability over the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal, stating:
“We are treating this matter with the seriousness it demands. Initial findings will likely be shared with the public within the next 24 to 48 hours, offering critical insight into the progress and direction of the investigation.”
He emphasized, however, that the process remains highly complex and protracted. “This inquiry involves not only classified intelligence but also intricate battlefield decisions and failures in diplomatic planning,” Hegseth said, adding that the investigation could extend into 2026. “We are conducting comprehensive interviews with military personnel, diplomats, and intelligence officials to ensure every layer of failure is examined.” Hegseth did not shy away from describing the 2021 withdrawal as a “strategic collapse” that exposed thousands of vulnerable Afghanistanis including women professionals, civil servants, and ethnic minorities to Taliban persecution. The regime, notorious for its medieval ideology and systemic suppression of human rights, swiftly moved to reverse two decades of fragile democratic gains, particularly targeting women, journalists, and civil society leaders.
The withdrawal has since been widely condemned as a symbol of failed leadership, with former President Donald Trump repeatedly characterizing it as the “most disgraceful and humiliating moment in U.S. foreign policy history.” Trump had previously called for the resignation of top military officials involved in the evacuation, arguing that the mismanagement of the withdrawal amounted to a betrayal of American values and allies. During the interview, Hegseth also referenced broader issues under the Biden administration’s foreign policy, including its response to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza:
“Joe Biden’s mismanagement has deeply undermined America’s global credibility,” he said.
“But with the potential return of President Trump, we can begin restoring America’s power, discipline, and respect on the world stage.” Since assuming his role at the Pentagon, Hegseth has vowed to lead a forensic and transparent review of the Afghanistan withdrawal. In his first address to Defense Department staff, he declared:
“We will examine the Afghanistan debacle with surgical precision to understand not only who failed, but why they failed, and how to ensure such a tragedy never recurs.”
Meanwhile, Afghanistan continues to suffer under the repressive rule of the Taliban, whose regime remains unrecognized by the international community. The group has imposed a rigid, male-dominated theocracy that has stripped Afghanistani women of their most basic rights, dismantled freedom of the press, and revived public floggings, arbitrary detentions, and ethnic purges. Independent voices, especially among the educated and urban classes, have either been silenced or forced into exile. Four years since the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan remains a broken nation economically isolated, diplomatically paralyzed, and morally abandoned. The international community, still grappling with how to support the Afghanistani people without legitimizing the Taliban’s tyranny, awaits the findings of the U.S. investigation as a potential catalyst for rethinking both the failures of the past and the moral obligations of the future.
The question that remains is not simply why the United States withdrew but why it left behind a nation at the mercy of extremists, and how the world allowed such a betrayal to unfold in full view.
