A 350-page report criticizes State Department for not having an evacuation plan, despite warning signs.

Mike McCaul of Texas, Republican Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee released a report that was harsh and criticized the military for its botched Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021. It also highlighted serious areas of mismanagement.

The Republican-led document opens by recalling President Joe Biden’s desire to withdraw from Vietnam War in the 1970s as a Senator. The report says that this, as well as the withdrawal from Afghanistan, shows a “pattern” of “callous foreign policy and willingness to abandon strategic allies.”

The report also contradicted Biden’s claim that his hands were bound by the Doha agreement, which former President Trump made with the Taliban and set a summer 2021 deadline for U.S. withdrawl. It revealed how officials did not have a plan to get Americans and their allies out of Afghanistan while there was still armed forces protecting them.

This is a summary of the more 350-page report that was compiled from tens and thousands of pages of documents, as well as interviews with senior officials. The research spanned the majority of the past two years.

Biden’s Doha Agreement with Taliban was not bound by deadlines

The report revealed that Biden, Vice President Harris, and other top leaders were informed by these leaders that the Taliban had already violated the terms of the Doha Agreement and that, as a result, the U.S. wasn’t obligated leave.

The committee found that NATO allies also expressed their strong opposition to the U.S. withdrawal decision. The British Chief Defense Staff warned that “withdrawal in these circumstances would be viewed as a victory for the Taliban”.

Biden retained Zalmay Khalilzad as his special representative in Afghanistan, an appointee of Trump who negotiated the deal. This was a sign that the new administration supported the agreement.

Khalilzad, at the Taliban’s request, had excluded the Afghan government from talks. This was a major blow for President AshrafGhani’s administration.

When Trump left office in 2017, 2,500 U.S. soldiers remained in Afghanistan. Biden was determined that this number would be zero, no matter what. According to Col. Seth Krummrich of Special Operations Command who testified to the committee: “The President decided we were going to leave and he is not listening to anyone.”

Then-State Dept. In testimony, Ned Price, the spokesperson for the then-State Dept.

State Department failed to devise an escape plan when it became apparent that Kabul would fall

The report details the numerous warnings the State Department received in order to reduce its embassy footprint, as it became apparent that Afghanistan would fall quickly to the Taliban. It refused. It was one of largest embassies around the world at the time it resigned.

The military was told to leave before the embassy closed, leaving Americans and their allies stranded.

In a meeting, Brian McKeon, the Deputy Secretary of State, Management and Resources, rejected the warnings from military officials, saying, “We at State Department have a higher risk tolerance than your guys.”

Gen. Austin Miler confirmed McKeon’s remarks and explained that State Department did not exhibit a “higher risk tolerance” but rather exhibited a “lack of understanding of risk” in Afghanistan.

When asked why McKeon made such statements, the officer replied, “The State Department said it and so did the President.” Wilson and others then start saying this, believing that it will work.

The report blames former Afghanistan ambassador Ross Wilson who, instead of shrinking the embassy, increased its presence as security deteriorated.

Wilson’s two-week vacation in the last week of the month of July 2021 and the first of the month of August 2021 revealed a lack of urgency.

The NEO (non-combatant evacuation) was ordered only on August 15th, as the Taliban marched towards Kabul.

The NEO was not launched until August 19, and the first message from the Kabul Embassy urging Americans to leave the country wasn’t received until August 7.

The Transportation Department allowed foreign planes only on August 20th, despite the fact that there were not enough military planes available to help with the evacuations.

The report revealed that Wilson fled his embassy before the entire staff. Wilson reportedly held COVID-19 but had a foreign service agent take the test for him to enable him to flee.

Carol Perez, acting under secretary, told the committee that the evacuation plan for the embassy was “still being worked on” after the Taliban took control despite months’ warnings.

Americans and Allies were turned away, while Afghans without a vetting process got on planes

Wilson testified he felt “comfortable’ with delaying the NEO to Aug. 15 while Gen. Frank McKenzie called it the “fatal flaw” that led to the events of August.

The U.S. government had yet to determine who was eligible for evacuation or identify third countries as transit points.

In the months leading up to the U.S. takeover, the number of cases for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), which are used to evacuate U.S. military ally interpreters in Afghanistan was lower than it had been the four preceding months.

Around 1,000 Americans, and more than 90% SIV-eligible Afghans, were left behind when the last U.S. Military flight departed Kabul.

Reports found that embassy staffers were not given priority for evacuation. Many of them were turned away in tears from the airport and embassy. The U.S. only advised those who may have been eligible for evacuation to “not go to the airport before you are informed via email that there are departure options.”

Since the NSC didn’t send guidelines on who should be prioritized for evacuation because they are “at risk”, the State Department processed thousands without documentation.

One State Department employee testified to the committee that “the U.S. Government had no idea if the people being evacuated are threats.”

Volunteer groups assisted at least 314 American Citizens and 266 permanent residents to evacuate Afghanistan after the final troops had left.

Abbey Gate bombing: warnings about terror attacks ignored

As the Taliban beat groups of desperate Afghans,