A House report has outlined the grave mishandling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, focusing on the significant military assets left for Taliban forces.
The New York Post reported that President Biden's administration is facing sharp criticism after a detailed report by the House Foreign Affairs Committee revealed the extensive amount of military equipment and technology inadvertently left in Afghanistan during the chaotic withdrawal in August 2021.
About $7.1 billion worth of U.S. resources remained, which the Taliban later utilized, sparking concerns about the security and ethical implications of the withdrawal efforts.
Prior to the withdrawal, both the Pentagon and the Biden administration maintained that all essential equipment was either evacuated or dismantled.
Nonetheless, the committee's findings contradicted these assertions, indicating that the vast amount of equipment, initially intended for the Afghan military, was left fully operational as the native forces rapidly disintegrated.
The report, which emerged after an exhaustive two-year investigation, shed light on the circumstances surrounding the transfer of resources to Afghan forces, as intended by U.S. strategies.
"When questioned about the weapons left behind, [US Forces Afghanistan commander Gen. Austin Scott] Miller informed the committee those were the property of the Afghan government and had been provided pursuant to U.S. security assistance to the Afghan forces," the report noted. This transfer, supposedly under legislative oversight, didn’t anticipate the swift collapse of the Afghan military.
Predictive reports within top levels of the U.S. administration had already hinted at the imminent downfall of Kabul by May 2021.
A stark predetermination acknowledged across the Biden administration indicated that Afghanistan's holdover was primarily a timing issue rather than a potential to avert takeover. "It was clear to the administration at that point in time, that it was not a matter of if Afghanistan would fall to the Taliban, but a matter of when," the committee reported.
Despite these predictions, the U.S. endeavored to dismantle its operations meticulously, dedicating four months to the withdrawal or destruction of American assets.
However, the equipment provided to the Afghan military was left as it was, which included 40 operational aircraft notably tanks, helicopters, and Humvees that eventually fell into the Taliban’s hands.
One of the most alarming aspects of the Taliban’s acquisition involved U.S. military biometric devices and databases.
These technologies, initially used to identify insurgents, turned into tools for targeting individuals associated with U.S. and NATO forces. A NATO report corroborated these claims, stating that the biometric devices, were now being employed by the Taliban to systemically hunt down former allies.
Rep. Michael McCaul, during the committee hearings, underscored the severity of the situation with these devices. "The Taliban goes door to door [and] checks fingerprints," he revealed, depicting a grim scenario for those who had assisted foreign forces and are now at extreme risk due to the technological breach.
The situation at Bagram Air Base particularly reflected the endemic challenges during the withdrawal. Criticized for its mismanagement, the base’s handover occurred without adequate oversight, which led to immediate looting and significant security lapses.
This poor coordination sharply contradicted statements from Gen. Frank McKenzie who asserted, “We did this in close coordination with our allies and partners,” highlighting a disparity between reported and perceived operational coherence.
The narrative of disarray was further complicated by military leadership's defense of their actions. Gen. Mark Milley, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, mentioned the unpredictability of the Afghan government's rapid collapse: "Nothing that I saw indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days," he stated.
This indicated a significant underestimation of the Taliban’s capabilities and the overestimation of the Afghan military’s resilience.