WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman David Rouzer (NC-07) released the following statement on the two-year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan:
"Today marks two years since President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. To date, the President, nor anyone in his Administration, has taken responsibility for the deadly catastrophe or the lives of our allies and the women and children who have been killed or enslaved there since. House Republicans will continue investigating this evacuation to deliver justice for the thirteen U.S. servicemembers who lost their lives, our allies who supported us, our veterans who kept our homeland safe while serving in Afghanistan, and the American people.
"Those who served in Afghanistan must know their service was not in vain. Over the course of those twenty years, these heroes made great sacrifice to achieve the mission of keeping every American and our homeland safe. They did their job, and they did it well."
House Republican Oversight of the Biden Administration's Afghanistan Withdrawal:
- On August 7, 2023, House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) Member, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48), hosted a public forum to receive testimony from the Gold Star Families of the thirteen U.S. servicemembers killed in Afghanistan during the withdrawal. For the first time, these family members shared their stories in public as they still wait for answers from the Biden Administration.
- On January 26, 2023, the Department of State produced 218 pages of previously released Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents to HFAC. Many included significant redactions with no explanation.
- Following the HFAC Chairman’s threat of a subpoena, State Department produced the U.S. Embassy Kabul Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) on March 22, 2023, and the State Department’s After-Action Review (AAR) of the Afghanistan Withdrawal on April 6, 2023. However, a key section on evacuation planning was questionably redacted.
- In response to the HFAC Chairman’s threat of contempt and further pressure, State Department provided all HFAC Members access to the July 2021 Dissent Channel cable and State’s response. This is the first time in history the department has provided Congress access to a dissent channel cable. The cable is a key part of the Committee’s investigation as it contains first-hand information from the Embassy Kabul employees who were on the ground prior to the collapse. It tells Congress what State Department leaders were warned of by their own officials before Afghanistan fell – and what warnings they potentially ignored.
- The House Foreign Affairs Committee continues to conduct rigorous oversight of the ongoing failures of current U.S. Afghanistan policy, including the Biden Administration’s engagement with the Taliban, its failure to evacuate Americans and our Afghan partners, its lack of an effective response to the brutal oppression of Afghan women and girls, humanitarian aid spending, and the deficient U.S. counterterrorism capabilities in the region.
