Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon to launch an investigation into former President Joe Biden’s botched military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Hegseth released a memo on Tuesday noting that “President Biden’s administration led a chaotic withdrawal of U.S. military and embassy officials from Afghanistan that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. Service members and 170 civilians in a suicide bombing at the Kabul International Airport’s Abbey Gate.
The defense secretary further explained, “The Department of Defense has an obligation, both to the American people and to the warfighters who sacrificed their youth in Afghanistan, to get to the facts. This remains an important step toward regaining faith and trust with the American people and all those who wear the uniform and is prudent based on the number of casualties and equipment lost during the execution of this withdrawal operation.”
The Defense Department has “been engaged in a review of this catastrophic event in our military’s history,” Hegseth acknowledged. “I have concluded that we need to conduct a comprehensive review to ensure that accountability for this event is met and that the complete picture is provided to the American people.”
To meet this imperative, I am directing the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (ATSD-PA) and Senior Advisor, Sean Parnell to convene a Special Review Panel (SRP) for the Department who will independently examine previous investigations, to include but not limited to, findings of fact, sources, witnesses, and analyze the decision-making that led to one of America’s darkest and most destabilizing international moments. This team will ensure ACCOUNTABILITY to the American people and the warfighters of our great Nation.
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Memo regarding the Review of the U.S. Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/2V7Dt8biOm
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) May 20, 2025
🚨BREAKING: Pete Hegseth orders review into the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
— DeVory Darkins (@devorydarkins) May 20, 2025
"Hegseth says Pentagon spokesman Shawn Parnell will be convening a special review panel to thoroughly examine previous investigations to include but not limited to findings of facts, sources,… pic.twitter.com/b9vd866SZn
Most Americans supported withdrawing troops from Afghanistan almost 20 years after the US invaded the region to destroy the Taliban. But what followed in August 2021 was an utter disaster for which few have been held accountable.
This should piss you off.
— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) August 14, 2024
The Taliban held a PARADE with the 85 BILLION DOLLAR equipment that Biden left behind during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.
What an embarrassment.
pic.twitter.com/lRStWCs80i
Despite multiple warnings from intelligence about how the Afghan government would collapse under the plan, the Biden administration did not account for the resurgence of the Taliban, which swept through the region amid the withdrawal and took full control of the country.
This led to a frantic evacuation effort, with American citizens and Afghan allies trying desperately to leave the area before the Taliban could find and punish them for aiding the US military. The situation became increasingly chaotic until a suicide bomber murdered 13 US service members and over one hundred Afghan civilians at the Kabul airport.
The Biden administration left behind billions of dollars in military equipment during the haphazard operation, a gift the Taliban happily accepted. Yet, none of those involved in the planning of the fiasco were ever held to account for their mistakes. The Biden administration and its allies in the legacy media continually defended the debacle. But now, it appears America might finally understand what really happened.
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