The State Department defended the chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal in the face of criticism from House Foreign Affairs Republicans, who released a report highlighting dysfunction and lack of planning leading up to the pullout. The report, led by Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul, disputed President Biden’s assertion that his hands were tied to the Doha agreement with the Taliban and placed much of the blame on the State Department for failing to evacuate Americans and allies in a timely manner. The State Department dismissed the report as partisan and defended its actions, stating that it remains focused on learning important lessons from the withdrawal and making sustainable changes to crisis operations.
The State Department addressed the criticism that they lacked a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) plan to close operations in Afghanistan, stating that this was a persistent misunderstanding. The department did not initiate an NEO to begin removing U.S. personnel and American allies until Aug. 14, one day before President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. The blame was placed on former Afghanistan Ambassador Ross Wilson for increasing the embassy’s presence despite deteriorating security conditions. The statement also noted that Congress broadly supported the decision to keep the embassy in Kabul open after the evacuation, with the intention of continuing diplomatic and development activities.
The department admitted that it had no idea Afghanistan would fall to the Taliban so quickly, despite warnings from military officials. The State Department had been recommending Americans living in Afghanistan leave since March of that year, sending multiple warnings and offers of assistance. Despite these efforts, nearly 6,000 Americans remained in Kabul as it fell, prompting an evacuation effort of unprecedented scale. The State Department disputed claims that it left 1,000 Americans behind, stating that almost all Americans were evacuated by Aug. 31, with additional evacuations taking place in the following months.
When President Biden took office in January 2021, the special immigrant visa (SIV) program to offer visas to foreign nationals who assist U.S. missions abroad had a backlog of 14,000, and there had not been a single SIV applicant interview in Kabul in nine months. The State Department noted that it helped evacuate some 120,000 Americans, Afghans, and third-country nationals in the last two weeks of August 2021. While the report from House Foreign Affairs Republicans criticized the department’s handling of the withdrawal, the State Department maintained that it remains committed to learning from the experience and making necessary changes to crisis operations.
Overall, the State Department defended its actions during the frenzied Afghanistan withdrawal, stating that it had made efforts to evacuate Americans and allies in a timely manner despite challenges on the ground. The department refuted claims of lacking a NEO plan and acknowledged that it did not anticipate the swift collapse of the Afghan government to the Taliban. While the withdrawal was met with criticism and scrutiny, the State Department maintained that it prioritized the safety and evacuation of Americans and allies during the tumultuous situation in Afghanistan.
