Biden's Afghanistan exit as 'an international embarrassment': Morgan Ortagus
Former State Department spokeswoman on leaked notes on Biden's failures in Afghanistan on 'The Story.'
A new report by Republicans on the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs details the failures of the Biden administration during the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"It is clear the senior leadership of the Biden Administration failed to effectively plan, coordinate, and execute an orderly withdrawal and evacuation" from Afghanistan, the report states. "The Biden Administration squandered precious time, ignored intelligence and recommendations from people on the ground, and refused bipartisan support to give them the resources to succeed. In the process, the botched withdrawal has tarnished America’s reputation and credibility."
President Biden speaks to reporters in an undated photo. (Getty Images)
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR FURIOUS ABOUT BIDEN ADMIN PACE OF AFGHANISTAN EVACUATIONS
Bagram abandoned
The report cites multiple failures by President Biden in the days leading up to the dramatic U.S. exit from Kabul, most notably his decision to abandon Bagram Air Base before American citizens and Afghan allies could be evacuated from the country.
"The United States abandoned Bagram Air Base on July 4, without even telling the Afghan base commander," the report said. "In the process, the administration abandoned a facility that could have been critical to a better evacuation. At the same time, cutting support to the Afghan National Security Forces eliminated their ability to properly defend the country and set the conditions for the rapid fall of Kabul."
Planes are seen at Kabul International Airport. (Getty Images)
The final month of America's longest war was mired in controversy, eventually leading to a frantic evacuation effort from Kabul as the Taliban took over much of Afghanistan and closed in on its capital.
13 service members killed
That chaos led to 13 American service members losing their lives during the evacuation effort after a bomb exploded near an airport checkpoint they were manning in Kabul.
The report places most of the blame for their deaths at the hands of senior leaders, while noting that the job of evacuating Afghanistan remains incomplete five months after the U.S. withdrawal.
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President Biden. (Associated Press)
"This failure of leadership cost U.S. military personnel lives and has left tens of thousands behind to an uncertain fate under Taliban control," the report said. "A healthy sense of humility should guide the lessons learned and help to better prepare for future evacuations."
The report details multiple ways the U.S. can improve future evacuation efforts, including implementing a State Department database of U.S. citizens overseas, improved transparency with Congress, and improved resources for the Departments of Defense State, and Homeland Security to more efficiently vet visa applicants who assisted the United States.
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