conflict
Three Years Later, Biden Still Hasn’t Said Who’s At Fault For Chaotic Afghanistan Withdrawal
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From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Jake Smith
On the third anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration has yet to fire any leadership personnel for their role in the botched operation; instead, the administration has maintained that the decision to pull out was the right move.
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 was seen by many as a chaotic and abrupt operation that led to the deaths of several U.S. troops. But the Biden administration has largely refused to admit blame in the matter, and no leadership involved has been dismissed or resigned over the operation, according to a review of multiple records.
The Biden administration’s goal was to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 2021, but a failure of planning and preparation by leadership in Washington created a disordered situation for troops on the ground in Afghanistan, resulting in a disordered evacuation. There was also a miscalculation among military leaders who believed that the Taliban would not seize control of the country as quickly as the extremist group did after U.S. forces withdrew.
The Department of Defense, headed by Secretary Lloyd Austin, was intimately involved prior to and during the withdrawal, guiding U.S. military operations on the ground in Afghanistan and providing resources and intelligence for the operation. Former Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCOS) Chairman retired Gen. Mark Milley — at the time the highest ranking member of the military — was also involved in coordinating strategy and operations for the withdrawal.
Both Austin and Milley attended planning sessions for the withdrawal, retired Gen. Austin Scott Miller, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan at the time, told lawmakers during a closed-door hearing in April, according to The Washington Post. Miller had been privately warning the administration ahead of the withdrawal that Afghanistan’s stability would get “very bad, very fast” after U.S. forces departed.
Miller stepped down from his role in July 2023, after serving as the most senior U.S. officer in Afghanistan. Neither Austin nor Milley were removed from their roles over the withdrawal, though Milley testified in 2023 that he had advised the administration to keep troops in Afghanistan, arguing that the region would quickly collapse if the U.S. withdrew on the set timeline, according to The New York Times. Milley’s term as JCOS chair ended in September 2023.
For his part, Austin testified in 2023 that he supported Biden’s decision to evacuate U.S. troops in 2021 and said he didn’t “have any regrets” about the operation. Austin remains the current Secretary of Defense under Biden.
Similar to the Department of Defense, the State Department, led by Secretary Antony Blinken and tasked with overseeing U.S. foreign affairs, was also involved in planning and helping execute the Afghanistan withdrawal, especially regarding evacuating U.S. citizens present in the country. Thousands of Americans were initially stranded in Afghanistan; most of them were evacuated in the weeks and months following.
A State Department 2023 after-action report found that the withdrawal operation “was hindered by the fact that it was unclear who in the Department had the lead.” The report also noted that there was an “insufficient senior-level consideration of worst-case scenarios.”
There have been multiple credible reports that the State Department on various occasions failed to properly vet or track millions in aid to Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, running the risk it could end up in the hands of the Taliban or other extremist groups.
The U.S. left over $7 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan. The Taliban, an Islamic extremist group ruling over Afghanistan, held a demonstration on Wednesday with American military equipment and vehicles left at a former U.S. base in the country.
Biden has not dismissed Blinken, and Blinken has not resigned from his role as Secretary of State. Nor has Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, who would have had his ear and offered him advice prior to and during the withdrawal.
A Biden administration 2023 report assigned most blame on the former Trump administration for the withdrawal, given that Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban in 2020 to withdraw U.S. forces by 2021. After taking office in 2021, Biden tried to abide by the agreement and withdraw forces by September of that year, according to the report.
Trump and his team argue that had he been president at the time, the withdrawal would have been executed in a safe and secure manner, and blamed the Biden administration for “trying to gaslight the American people for their disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that directly led to American deaths and emboldened the terrorists.”
Biden has defended his choice to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan when he did. He falsely claimed during a debate against Trump in June that he was “the only president this decade that doesn’t have any troops dying anywhere in the world.”
Following the withdrawal, Biden also reportedly told his top aides, including Sullivan, that he supported them and their decisions regarding the operation, according to Axios.
The Pentagon and State Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
conflict
Hamas, Palestinians paraded dead babies coffins through streets before handover to Israel
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MxM News
Quick Hit:
Hamas paraded the caskets of Israeli hostages, including what they claimed were the bodies of a mother and two young children, through the streets of Gaza before handing them over to the Red Cross. Videos show crowds cheering as armed terrorists carried the coffins as part of a prisoner exchange with Israel.
Key Details:
- Videos from Khan Younis, Gaza, show Hamas and other terrorists parading four caskets, including those of two young children, before handing them to the Red Cross.
- Crowds cheered as the terrorists, armed and unmasked, carried the coffins, with celebratory music playing in the background.
- The deceased were identified as members of the Bibas family, including the youngest hostages from the October 7 attack.
ANIMALS: Hamas paraded the bodies of murdered Israeli babies in coffins while blasting loud music during their celebration today when they handed the bodies over to the Red Cross. pic.twitter.com/CoTV5Rzep7
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 20, 2025
Diving Deeper:
During a ceremony in Khan Younis, Gaza, Hamas paraded the caskets of Israeli hostages through the streets, including what they claimed were the bodies of a mother and her two small children. The display occurred before the remains were handed over to the Red Cross as part of a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel. Crowds of Gazans were seen cheering and celebrating as the coffins were carried by armed terrorists.
Videos from the event show masked militants loading a casket into a Red Cross aid truck, while another militant, adorned with symbols of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, filmed the procession. Another video shows adults and children waving and celebrating as Hamas fighters, armed and in trucks, paraded through the streets. Reuters footage also captured members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) helping carry a casket, highlighting the involvement of multiple terrorist factions in the display.
Hamas presented the bodies as those of the Bibas family, who were captured during the October 7 attack. The children, aged four years and less than one year, were among the youngest hostages taken during the brutal assault that triggered the ongoing 15-month conflict. The fourth body was identified as 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz, according to Jewish News Syndicate. Hamas has repeatedly blamed the deaths on Israeli airstrikes, though no evidence was provided to support the claim.
Israel and Hamas are currently observing a temporary ceasefire agreement, facilitating the exchange of civilian hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Despite the ceasefire, Hamas has continued to celebrate the October 7 attacks, which resulted in the largest mass killing of Jewish people since the Holocaust. During the ceremony, a stage displayed a poster depicting Israel as a “Nazi Army,” underscoring Hamas’s longstanding agenda of hostility towards the Jewish state.
The shocking parade of caskets, accompanied by celebratory music and cheering crowds, has drawn international condemnation and further underscored the brutal nature of Hamas’s actions. As the exchange process continues, the emotional toll on the families of the victims remains immeasurable.
armed forces
SecDef Hegseth picks investigators to examine botched Afghanistan withdrawal
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MxM News
Quick Hit:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has initiated an investigation into the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Hegseth confirmed that investigators have already been selected to examine the disastrous exit, which left 13 U.S. service members dead and stranded Americans behind. He emphasized that accountability is forthcoming and vowed a thorough review to uncover the decision-making failures behind the debacle.
Key Details:
- Hegseth told Breitbart News that he has already chosen investigators for a full Pentagon-led review of the withdrawal.
- The Biden administration’s 2021 exit resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members, abandoned American citizens, and a botched drone strike that killed an Afghan aid worker and his family.
- No officials were held accountable, while Marine Col. Stuart Scheller, who publicly called for accountability, was the only one punished—he now serves in the Trump administration.
Diving Deeper:
Hegseth, in an exclusive interview, stated that the investigation would be comprehensive, focusing on key decision-making failures that led to one of the most disastrous military withdrawals in U.S. history. While no specific timeline was provided, he stressed the importance of getting the facts right.
The 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, executed under then-President Joe Biden, resulted in a chaotic evacuation at Kabul International Airport. The suicide bombing at Abbey Gate claimed the lives of 13 American troops, while the administration abandoned hundreds of U.S. citizens despite claiming success. Additionally, the U.S. military, in a hasty attempt to prevent another attack, launched a drone strike that mistakenly killed an innocent Afghan aid worker and his family. At the time, then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley defended the strike as “righteous.”
Despite these failures, no senior officials were removed from their posts. The only individual who faced consequences was Marine Col. Stuart Scheller, who was discharged after demanding accountability in a viral video. Now, he serves as a senior adviser to the Defense Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness under the 47th President, Donald Trump.
Hegseth reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring accountability, emphasizing the need to establish a factual timeline of events, decisions, and their consequences. “I don’t think there’s anybody that feels like there’s been an honest accounting of what happened in Afghanistan. That’s our job,” he said.
The investigation, he added, will be critical to rebuilding trust within the Defense Department. “We’re going to drive that full investigation and get a sense of what happened. Accountability will be coming,” Hegseth concluded.
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