Biden’s Afghanistan Exit: $7 Billion in Gifts for the Taliban?

Ryanzo W. Perez / shutterstock.com
Ryanzo W. Perez / shutterstock.com

The House Foreign Affairs Committee just dropped a bombshell, and it’s not good news for anyone still clinging to the idea that this administration knows what it’s doing. Their latest report, a whopping 354 pages long, takes a deep dive into the utter fiasco that was the Afghanistan withdrawal. And spoiler alert: it’s even worse than we thought.

For three years, the committee has been investigating how the Biden administration botched the pullout, failing to see the Taliban coming like a freight train and doing next to nothing to prepare for an orderly exit of U.S. personnel and allies. The result? A chaotic and disastrous evacuation, with American civilians and U.S.-allied Afghans left behind to face a grim fate at the hands of the Taliban. It’s almost like they didn’t even try to get it right.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, didn’t mince words when he talked about the findings. According to him, the Biden administration had all the intel it needed to see the Afghan government was on the verge of collapse. But instead of putting a plan in place to safely evacuate Americans, green card holders, and our Afghan allies, they chose to prioritize optics over security every step of the way. Optics over security — what a slogan for the Biden years.

The report pulls back the curtain on the testimony of 18 administration officials, including Gen. Austin Miller, former Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and former acting ambassador to Afghanistan, Ross Wilson. What it reveals is a damning picture of negligence, with $7 billion worth of classified documents and military equipment left behind. And don’t forget the tragic loss of 13 brave U.S. service members, who were killed in a suicide bombing during the chaos at the Kabul airport.

What’s worse is that the agencies involved couldn’t even get on the same page. The report accuses the White House of ignoring recommendations to leave a small military force in place, which might have prevented much of the disaster. But hey, why listen to the experts when you’ve got an agenda to push?

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tried to do some damage control, of course. He insists there was “no handover of U.S. equipment to the Taliban,” claiming that the equipment left behind was originally provided to Afghan security forces with congressional approval over the past two decades. Sure, Kirby, blame it on the Afghan forces who “surrendered or stopped fighting.” Convenient, isn’t it?

Meanwhile, the report notes that the Taliban now boasts around 40 operational aircraft from the former Afghan government, including Black Hawk helicopters, light helicopters, helicopter gunships, and a transport aircraft. And they’re not just collecting dust. The United Nations’ Sanctions Monitoring team has observed these aircraft in use.

To make matters even worse, just last month, Taliban fighters flaunted their new toys in a military parade, celebrating their three-year anniversary of recapturing Kabul. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound. The parade showed off tanks, helicopters, and Humvees left behind by U.S. forces — a parade of incompetence, sponsored by the Biden administration.

But it doesn’t stop at hardware. The report highlights that sensitive tech and databases were also left behind, putting Afghan allies in grave danger. American technology is now in the hands of the Taliban, who are using it to target those who once stood with us. According to a NATO report, the Taliban got their hands on U.S. military biometric devices that could identify Afghans who helped the U.S. and NATO. Fingerprints, eye scans, facial data — all now tools for the Taliban’s witch hunts.

McCaul revealed on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that the Taliban is reportedly going door-to-door, using this technology to identify, torture, and kill those who assisted the U.S. How’s that for a chilling consequence of poor planning?

And if you thought the planning was shoddy, listen to this: During the evacuation, the U.S. military cut the water supply at Bagram Airfield and left in the dead of night without even telling the new Afghan commander. Afghan General Mir Asadullah Kohistani said he heard a “rumor” that the Americans had left — a rumor, folks! By seven the next morning, they realized it was true. This is how the greatest military in the world exits a country?

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command at the time, denied these allegations, of course. He claims every departure was “carefully synchronized” with Afghan partners. But let’s face it — the chaos on the ground tells a different story.

As if that wasn’t enough, McCaul hinted that the investigation is far from over. The committee is looking to hear from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan next. One can only hope some accountability will finally come down the pike.

This report is a grim reminder of the mess that is Biden’s foreign policy — a string of disasters, each worse than the last. It’s high time the American people demand answers and some real leadership for a change.