Panel chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, a persistent and vocal critic of the decision to pull all U.S. forces out in the summer of 2021, declared what happened in Afghanistan "a systemic breakdown of the federal government at every level, and a stunning failure of leadership by the Biden administration."
Multiple Democrats and some of the witnesses noted that the policy ultimately implemented by the Biden administration was a product of multiple administrations' policies. And Democrats were quick to point out that former President Donald Trump set the withdrawal date in motion when he negotiated the framework for pulling out U.S. forces with Taliban leaders months earlier.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the ranking Democrat, acknowledged "mistakes along the way" but he maintained that Biden "made the right decision to bring all our troops home because I can't in good conscience imagine sending more American men and women to fight in Afghanistan."
In a statement White House spokesperson Ian Sams insisted Biden made the "tough decision" to end the war in Afghanistan despite that Trump had "failed to establish an evacuation plan."
"As a result, we are no longer losing American lives and spending tens of billions of dollars a year fighting a war with no end in sight, putting the U.S. in a stronger position to lead the world and address the challenges of the future, while continuing to welcome our Afghan allies and maintaining our ability to deal with terrorist threats in the region," according to the statement.
