House committee slams Biden for failure of leadership during Afghan withdrawal

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul blamed President Joe Biden’s administration Wednesday for its "stunning failure" of leadership during the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan.​

"What happened in Afghanistan was a systemic breakdown of the federal government at every level – and a stunning, stunning failure of leadership by the Biden administration," said McCaul during a hearing on the US evacuation of Afghanistan.

The hearing was the first one of the Republican-controlled House committee.

"Because even though President Biden said, and I quote, 'if there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay to get them all out,' we now know he left more than 1,000 American citizens in Afghanistan," said the Republican lawmaker.

McCaul also slammed the State Department during his remarks, saying the agency ignored the realities on the ground.

"In the midst of the unfolding chaos in Kabul in August 2021, the United States State Department was all but useless," he said.

He noted that the US abandoned almost 200,000 Afghan partners and allies during the withdrawal.

Gregory Meeks, a top Democrat on the committee, however, defended Biden's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, saying it was correct.

He said the evacuation of Afghans who worked with the US was not carried out without mistakes and added that not just the White House but also Congress had responsibility during the evacuation.