Comer: President Biden’s Poor Leadership and Planning Led to the Catastrophic Afghanistan Withdrawal

WASHINGTON – Today, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) delivered opening remarks at a full committee hearing titled “The Biden Administration’s Disastrous Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Part I: Review by the Inspectors General.” In his opening statement, Chairman Comer emphasized that the Biden Administration’s poor planning and execution in Afghanistan resulted in a botched withdrawal that took the lives of 13 U.S. servicemembers, left Americans stranded, allowed U.S. military equipment to fall into Taliban hands, jeopardized progress made by Afghan women, and damaged the United States’ reputation on the international stage. Since the Afghan government’s collapse, he highlighted how the Biden Administration has failed to provide the Oversight Committee information or answers. Chairman Comer concluded that the four inspectors general testifying will help Congress understand the factors and decisions that ultimately led to the collapse as well as the continued risks to U.S. taxpayer dollars going to Afghanistan.

Below are Chairman Comer’s remarks as prepared:

Today, the Oversight Committee welcomes four United States inspectors general to provide insight into the Biden Administration’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan—before, during, and after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

No single hearing can tell the story of the United States’ War in Afghanistan. No single hearing can tell two decades’ worth of decisions that could’ve been made differently.

Those decisions are debatable. What is not debatable is the catastrophe the Biden Administration delivered in the War’s final months, weeks, and days.

For 20 years, Americans, American allies, and Afghans fought—and died—in a war to help Afghans create a country free from the Taliban’s control.

In August 2021, Joe Biden lost that war. There was no exit with dignity. It was a panic, and 13 American servicemembers were murdered by a suicide bomber.

Today, the Taliban flag flies over Kabul.

There is no American military base there.

There is no American embassy there.

There is no hope there, especially for women and girls who are now terrorized by the Taliban. This is Joe Biden’s legacy.

I would like to show a short video of some of the events Americans saw in August 2021.

In 2021, Americans watched as crowds of thousands of Afghans stood outside the gates of Hamid Karzai International Airport, just trying to get out of the country.

Americans watched as people so desperate to flee clung to the landing gear of airplanes taking off and fell from the sky when the planes did not stop.

Americans watched as parents handed their infants over to U.S. soldiers.

And they watched as billions of dollars of U.S. equipment—trucks, aircraft, weaponry—was just abandoned to the Taliban.

The American people watched these scenes and were worried about Americans, innocent Afghans, and loved ones who were still in Afghanistan.

Since the Afghan government’s collapse, the Oversight Committee has wanted answers from the Biden Administration. We plan to get them.

As our Commander in Chief, President Biden’s poor leadership and planning led to the debacle that unfolded in Afghanistan in August 2021.

Let me be clear, I was in favor of leaving Afghanistan, but it should never have been done like this.

I want to also say that the U.S. military, which is stronger and more capable than any other in the world, accomplished an incredible mission – airlifting 124,000 people out of Afghanistan in a matter of days. However, they should never have been put in that position.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has consequences that will not go away overnight, despite the Biden Administration’s hope that the American people will forget.

Afghanistan has once again become a safe haven for terrorism, as demonstrated by a rise in attacks by ISIS-K.

China and Russia are emboldened.

Allies around the world wonder if the U.S. can still rise to meet the threats that face us today.

Today’s hearing will be the first in a series to examine President Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Inspectors General here today have years of expertise when it comes to monitoring U.S. taxpayer dollars in Afghanistan.

They have identified billions in waste, fraud, and abuse in warfighting and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.

The goal of today’s hearing is simple: explore the facts. These IGs will help us understand the factors and decisions that ultimately led to the collapse as well as the continued risks to U.S. taxpayer dollars going to Afghanistan.

I’d like to thank all our witnesses for being here, and for their guidance and assistance over the years. I look forward to your testimony.