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Rep. Michael McCaul Confirmed The Biden Administration Was Warned And Didn’t Heed The Warning…

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(FreedomWire.org) – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) slammed the Biden administration for ignoring warnings from U.S. embassy officials in Kabul before the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after he viewed a 2021 dissent cable from the diplomats.

McCaul and New York Rep. Greg Meeks, the Foreign Affairs committee’s top Democratic member, viewed the dissent cable and the State Department’s official response this week after McCaul threatened to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena for the document.

“The dissenters were absolutely right about everything they said,” McCaul told Punchbowl News. “And it was a warning to the administration about what was going to happen and what they needed to do. The dissenters deserve a medal.”

He also said: “Unfortunately, the administration didn’t heed all their warnings and we got what we got.”

When he subpoenaed Blinken in March, McCaul said, “The American people deserve answers as to how this tragedy unfolded, and why 13 U.S. servicemembers lost their lives,” referring to the August 2021 suicide bomb at the Kabul airport during the Afghan withdrawal that killed 13 U.S. troops and at least 170 Afghan civilians.

While the top committee members were able to view the documents in person at the State Department, McCaul is still pushing the agency to allow everyone on the committee to view the materials.

On Thursday, Rep. Green released the following statement after the Biden administration stonewalled the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s subpoena to see the Afghanistan withdrawal dissent cable and Secretary Blinken’s response.

“As someone who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, this topic is extremely personal. The Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal has left bloodied marks on our nation’s reputation, on Afghanistan, and on our allies. The only salve is accountability. And that is why I have appreciated Chairman Michael McCaul’s steadfast leadership on this issue.

“Unfortunately, Secretary Blinken has yet to allow every member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to view the Kabul Embassy dissent cable that warned the Biden administration against a hasty withdrawal. This lack of transparency is appalling. 

“Because of President Biden’s botched withdrawal, 13 U.S. servicemembers are dead, and many more are injured. Lawmakers must fully understand what advice was given to Biden officials before these decisions were made and how the President responded. 

“The American people deserve answers. They deserve to know why the Biden administration deserted Bagram Air Base in the middle of the night without informing our allies. They deserve to know why Americans were left behind, why promises to Afghan interpreters and allies were broken, and why our servicemembers were treated like sitting ducks at the Kabul airport when a more secure airport 57 miles away could have been used. 

“The Biden administration is trying to brush its misdeeds under the rug. Chairman McCaul and House Republicans won’t let them. We are committed to our oversight duties. If Biden administration officials continue to put barriers in our way, we will tear them down, one brick at a time–no matter how long it takes.”

 

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Biden’s Report Blames Trump For Afghanistan Debacle…

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(FreedomWire.org) – President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday accused his predecessor, President Donald Trump, of creating the circumstances leading to the deadly and chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan on Biden’s watch in 2021.

The White House publicly released a 12-page summary of the results of the “hotwash” of U.S. policies around the ending of the nation’s longest war, taking little responsibility for its own actions and asserting that Biden was “severely constrained” by Trump’s decisions.

The administration said detailed reviews conducted by the State Department and the Pentagon, which were transmitted privately to Congress on Thursday, were highly classified and would not be released publicly.

“President Biden’s choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor,” the White House summary states, noting that when Biden entered office, “the Taliban were in the strongest military position that they had been in since 2001, controlling or contesting nearly half of the country.”

Republicans in Congress have sharply criticized the Afghanistan withdrawal, focusing on the deaths of 13 service members in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport, which also killed more than 100 Afghans.

Former secretary of state under President Trump Mike Pompeo fired back at claims from the Biden administration that Trump constrained the conditions of the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan.

“I am outraged by the fact that the 13 Americans that were killed there didn’t have to happen. And President Biden made the political decision to announce the date of withdrawal, to publicize it, and then to withdraw – in spite of the fact that the military clearly had told him that was a likely outcome. I don’t know what they’re talking about,” Pompeo stated.

Pompeo said Kirby failed to understand that former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was a “corrupt scoundrel” who was likely to flee and destabilize the country’s government, and that ceding Bagram Air Base would be a geopolitical catastrophe with long term, far-reaching consequences.

“This was entirely predictable. We (the Trump administration) didn’t constrain them at all. The Biden administration has demonstrated their willingness to break up good plans that the Trump administration had,” Pompeo said, pointing to Biden’s continued deconstruction of Trump’s border security policies and his about-face on the Trump-era tactics used to “deter” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Hecklers Verbally Annihilated Pelosi…

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(FreedomWire.org) – Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) speaking event with economist Paul Krugman was interrupted by multiple hecklers who accused her of being a “war criminal” and a “sad old drunk.”

Pelosi and Krugman discussed a myriad of issues, including her role as the first female speaker of the House. The conference was derailed when several members of the crowd began heckling Pelosi.

“You know Pelosi, that’s a very good place for you in the depths of hell,” one heckler screamed as they were removed from the event, according to video posted to Twitter. “For some reason, you have a very bad obsession of getting us into war. Hey, why is it that you did not admit that there were no WMDs in Iraq? You lied us into a war in Iraq. You got us to invade Afghanistan. Now over 90 percent of those people are impoverished and are dying. Why don’t you tell the truth about Nordstream?”

“Why did we destroy Nordstream? You’re leaving millions of Germans without energy! … People like you should be arrested, you are a war criminal!” they continued to shout. After security removed the them, another heckler stood up and took the spotlight.

“Hey congresswoman, I came to see a warmonger but you’re a sad old drunk! What happened? When you went to Taiwan, were you looking for Ukraine? Did we blow up the Nordstream on accident or on purpose?” they yelled. “Did you know about that? … You’re a war criminal by definition Ms. Pelosi. You got some nerve.”

“You goddam war criminal! How many people have died in your fucking name?” the man screamed as he was also removed. Two other hecklers stood up but were promptly removed as the crowd awkwardly looked on, throwing in a few boos in the process.

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The Taliban Flaunts The Gifts Biden Left Them…

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(FreedomWire.org) – Last week, members of the Taliban released photos of the impressive military arsenal President Joe Biden gifted them when he hastily and recklessly withdrew troops from Afghanistan.

Biden left more than $24 billion dollars with of weapons in the desert.

“300 destroyed vehicles in the 205th Army Corps were restored,” Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense wrote on Twitter. “As many as (300) types of intermediate military vehicles that were destroyed and unusable were restored and ready for use by the technical team of the Abu Dojaneh Brigade of the Badr Army.”

“Repaired vehicles include 150 International Kamaz trucks,” the statement continued. “125 Arada Humvee, 2 assault tanks, 4 Aradeh Taylor, 10 Aradeh Purcliff, and 15 are Humvee ambulances.”

“It should be mentioned that hundreds of other vehicles have been restored due to the efforts of the engineering and technical teams of the Ministry of National Defense,” the statement said.

“41 different vehicles were repaired in 203 Mansouri Corps,” the statement continued. “In the second brigade of 203 Mansouri Corps, 41 different types of vehicles were prepared for repair and use by the technical team.”

“In these vehicles,” the statement concluded. “Includes (30) Arade Humvee tanks, (6) Arade International vehicles and (5) Arade Ranger vehicles. The commander of the second brigade of the said corps praised the efforts of the technical team, thanked them and added that they will use the repaired vehicles if necessary.”

The Taliban also claims the Abu Dujana brigade of the Al-Badr Corps have already repaired over 300 military vehicles and now are ready for use.

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The Taliban Publicly Humiliated Hillary Clinton…

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(FreedomWire.org) – On Wednesday Hillary Clinton got destroyed on Twitter by the “Taliban Public Relations Department.”

Hillary tweeted, ” Girls in Afghanistan should be going back to school tomorrow, but the Taliban is only allowing boys to be educated.”

In response, the Taliban account responded with a vicious roast that invoked Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump, as wells as her husband Bill’s infamous extramarital affairs.

“You spent $700m in our country trying to teach women and girls that there are 140 different genders,” the Taliban tweeted. “No wonder you lost to the orange gangster. You left a huge mess behind in Afghanistan, just like your husband did with that dress.”

They had other funny Tweets too:

“Our administration has yet to decide who to support in the upcoming US election, and we believe our decision will be decisive. 

“On the one hand, there’s the orange gangster, who can be an unpredictable partner, and then there’s sleepy Joe, who has never let us down.”

“Our glorious Air Force has been put on high alert to deal with the incoming storm and to also mock the naysaying imperialists who said “they can only pilot camels”.

“Thankfully this natural dust storm is not the result of Uzbekistan inexplicably obtaining thermonuclear weapons.”

In another tweet, they point out that after 20 years, the Taliban is again in charge of Afghanistan.

“The American cowboys spent 20 years and trillions of dollars in Afghanistan replacing the Taliban with the Taliban.”

Two Taliban members were interviewed by Vice and they said they are bored and just sit on Twitter all day.

One said, “The Taliban used to be free of restrictions, but now we sit in one place, behind a desk and a computer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Life’s become so wearisome; you do the same things every day. Being away from the family has only doubled the problem.”

Another said, “I sometimes miss the jihad life for all the good things it had. In our ministry, there’s little work for me to do. Therefore, I spend most of my time on Twitter. We’re connected to speedy Wi-Fi and internet. Many mujahedin, including me, are addicted to the internet, especially Twitter.”

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Military Veteran Gave Gut Wrenching Testimony On The Bungled Afghanistan Withdrawal…

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(FreedomWire.org) – U.S. military snipers stationed at the Afghanistan airport in 2021 prior to a deadly terror attack that killed 13 Americans had an opportunity to kill the suspected bomber but were not given authority from military leaders, according to one of the American service members on the ground that day.

Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps who was dispatched to Kabul during the Biden administration’s bungled evacuation, on Wednesday told lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee that his sniper team was stopped from taking out the suspected terrorist bomber. Vargas-Andrews also recounted how the Biden State Department turned Afghans away from the airport, “condemning them to death” at the Taliban’s hands. The Aug. 26 bombing left 13 U.S. military members dead and Vargas-Andrews severely wounded.

Vargas-Andrews’s sniper team was provided with detailed information about the suspected bomber, including what he looked like. “I asked the intel guys why he wasn’t apprehended sooner since we had a full description,” the military veteran testified before the Foreign Affairs Committee during its first public hearing on the bungled withdrawal operation. “I was told the asset could not be compromised.”

Soon after, Vargas-Andrews and his team spotted the bomber but were told to stand down by a commander in charge. “We reassured him of the ease of fire on the suicide bomber,” Vargas-Andrews said. “Pointedly, we asked him for engagement authority and permission. We asked him if we could shoot. Our battalion commander said, and I quote, ‘I don’t know.'”

“Plain and simple, we were ignored,” Vargas-Andrews testified. “Our expertise was disregarded. No one was held accountable for our safety.”

Soon after that exchange, the suicide bomber attacked. Vargas-Andrews recounted “a massive wave of pressure. I’m thrown 12 feet onto the ground, but instantly knew what had happened. I opened my eyes to Marines dead or unconscious lying around me.” Vargas-Andrews lost multiple organs and two of his limbs. He has had 44 surgeries to date as a result of the attack.

Following the explosion, Vargas-Andrews said that “no one wanted my report post-blast. Even [the Naval Criminal Investigative Service] and the FBI failed to interview me.” The withdrawal, he said, “was a catastrophe and there was an inexcusable lack of accountability and negligence.”

Vargas-Andrews laid a large portion of the blame on the Biden State Department, which he said turned away scores of Afghans seeking refuge from the Taliban.

“Some Afghans turned away from [Hamid Karzai International Airport] tried to kill themselves on the razor wire in front of us that we used as a deterrent,” the veteran said. “They thought this was merciful compared to the Taliban torture that they faced.”

The State Department would not process those seeking to board American evacuation planes during the evening, according to Vargas-Andrews, creating a backlog. The State Department pulled Marines from their security posts to help remove Afghans whom the department was unable to process, Vargas-Andrews said, accusing the administration of “condemning [these Afghans] to death.”

Under questioning from committee chairman Michael McCaul (R., Calif.), Vargas-Andrew said, “both myself and team leader asked for engagement authority and [the commander] responded [by saying] he does not have that authority.”

“As a result we have 13 dead service men, woman, 170 afghans killed, and 35 including yourself injured because that threat could not be taken out because your commanding officer could not give you the order,” McCaul said.

Retired Lt. Col. David Scott Mann, who also helped coordinate civilian-led evacuation efforts after the Biden administration stopped chartering flights for those still trapped in the country, said the suicide bombing reignited mental health issues for scores of American veterans who fought in the Afghanistan war.

Mann described a “mental health tsunami” in the year after the bungled evacuation, saying that “73 percent of our Afghan war veterans say they feel betrayed by how this war eneded.” Calls to veterans hotlines spiked 81 percent in the year after the withdrawal.

“My friend Brad was found dead a few months ago in a Mississippi hotel room,” Mann said. “His wife, Dana, confirmed to me that the Afghan abandonment reactivated all the old demons he managed to put behind him from our time in Afghanistan together, and he just couldn’t find his way out of the darkness of that moral injury.”

“We might be done with Afghanistan but it’s not done with us,” Mann warned. “The enemy has a vote.”

He said the administration’s failure to implement a follow-up plan after removing U.S. troops resulted in the country becoming a safe haven for dozens of violent extremist groups.

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Biden Inexplicably Insults An Entire Ethnicity…

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(FreedomWire.org) – The latest gaffe-filled speech from President Joe Biden featured him confusing his wife’s father for her grandfather, making an implausible claim of how his uncle was awarded the Purple Heart, and greatly exaggerating how many trips he made to Iraq and Afghanistan. President Biden also struck a nerve in the same speech when he denigrated Irish people.

Biden delivered a speech to U.S. veterans during a town hall event on Friday in New Castle, Delaware.

Biden praised 102-year-old World War II veteran Ray Firmani for flying 25 missions over Germany. Firmani responded, “Thank you so much.”

Then Biden inexplicably and incorrectly delved into his family’s heritage.

The 80-year-old Biden told Firmani, “Thank you. I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid.”

President Biden continued, “I married Dominic Giacoppa’s daughter. So, you know, I got a little Italian in me now, you know?”

However, Jill Biden’s father is Donald Carl Jacobs from Hammonton, New Jersey. Jill’s grandfather is Domenic Giacoppo – who is a second-generation immigrant from Italy.

Jill’s mother is Bonny Jean Godfrey, who is of English and Scottish descent. Jill’s grandmother Mabel Sarah Blazer is of German descent.

Some reactions on Twitter declared Biden’s comment about the Irish to be demeaning.

Daily Signal senior reporter Mary Margaret Olohan decried Biden’s remarks as a “hate crime” against Irish people.

Washington Examiner investigative reporter Jerry Dunleavy explained, “Biden loves this Bidenism (he’s said it in the past before) — just casual old school anti-Irish stereotyping, but he thinks it’s a fun part of his gift of the gab because he considers himself Irish (his great-great-great grandfather moved to America from Ireland in the 1800s.).”

Businessman Eoghan McCabe tweeted, “Irishman here. I feel neutral because I think he actually is stupid.”

Biden made the exact same disparagement about the Irish as well as confusing Jill Biden’s grandfather and father on St. Patrick’s Day in March.

Also during Friday’s speech, Biden made a gaffe or outright lied about how his uncle received the prestigious Purple Heart award.

Biden told the American veterans:

You know, I — my dad, when I got elected Vice President, he said, “Joey, Uncle Frank fought in the Battle of the Bulge.” He was not feeling very well now — not because of the Battle of the Bulge. But he said, “And he won the Purple Heart. And he never received it. He never — he never got it. Do you think you could help him get it? We’ll surprise him.”

So we got him the Purple Heart. He had won it in the Battle of the Bulge. And I remember he came over to the house, and I came out, and he said, “Present it to him, okay?” We had the family there.

I said, “Uncle Frank, you won this. And I want to… He said, “I don’t want the damn thing.” (Laughter.) No, I’m serious. He said, “I don’t want it.’ I said, “What’s the matter, Uncle Frank? You earned it.” He said, ‘Yeah, but the others died. The others died. I lived. I don’t want it.”

However, Biden’s father, Joseph R. Biden Sr., died on Sept. 2, 2002. Joe Biden officially became vice president on Jan. 20, 2009.

Frank Biden died in 1999.

The New York Post reported, “Frank Biden’s tombstone does not identify him as a Purple Heart honoree, nor does his obituary. A partial registry of known Purple Heart recipients also doesn’t note anyone by that name receiving the award, though that database is not comprehensive.”

Forbes reported, “There doesn’t appear to be any record of Biden giving his uncle the honor—the president hasn’t mentioned the story in the past, there have been no news articles written about it and Frank Biden’s name does not appear on a list of recipients held by the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, though the list is incomplete.”

Biden also greatly exaggerated how many times he has visited Iraq and Afghanistan.

Biden claimed, “And, you know, I think that there’s a — I’ve been in and out — not as a, obviously, combatant — but in and out of Afghanistan and Iraq and these areas 38, 39 times as — not as President, only twice as President, but from the time I was a senator, but particularly when I was Vice President.”

Biden exaggerated his number of visits to the Middle Eastern countries back in 2019, and at the time the Biden campaign admitted that the correct number of trips is 21.

The Daily Mail noted that Biden was last in Iraq in 2016, and last visited Afghanistan in 2011. Biden has not visited Afghanistan or Iraq as president.

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Justice Has Been Delivered…

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(FreedomWire.org) – The White House said Monday it successfully conducted “a counterterrorism operation” over the weekend that killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The operation, senior administration officials told reporters during a background call, was conducted at 9:48 p.m. Eastern time July 30 – or 6:18 a.m Kabul time July 31 – and carried out “by an unmanned aerial vehicle.” It was the result of several months of “careful, patient and persistent work,” one official added.

“We have multiple intelligence sources, via multiple methods, that have been able to confirm that this was al-Zawahiri and that we were successful in achieving our objective,” the official said, declining to detail specifics.

Zawahiri helped plan the 9/11 attacks and took over as the leader of Al Qaeda after the U.S. killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, CNN reported.

Zawahiri also helped orchestrate multiple other attacks against U.S. targets over the years. A senior administration official described Zawahiri as “a significant Al Qaeda target” in a statement earlier Monday. Officials maintained that the air strike resulted in no civilian casualties.

Zawahiri and his family moved to a safe house in Afghanistan within the past year, and though it’s believed that he never left the compound, he would often hang out on a balcony, according to a senior administration official. Ultimately, the U.S. government was able to kill Zawahiri on July 30 as he was on that balcony, and none of his family members are believed to have died as a result of the air strike.

“His death deals a significant blow to al Qaeda,” the official told reporters, adding that the safe house “is now empty.”

The operation followed many months of research and planning, and the senior administration official explained that “only a very small group of officials were aware” of the intelligence and planning.

Biden received several briefings throughout the operation’s planning and ultimately had a final briefing July 25. The senior administration official cautioned that “we should not be surprised if” the former al Qaeda leader “filmed additional videos that may be released after his death.”

Biden gave remarks on the operation at the White House on Monday evening, which comes as the U.S. nears its one-year anniversary of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

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Jen Psaki Throws Tantrum…

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(FreedomWire.org) – Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich managed to raise White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s hackles on Friday as she probed the Biden administration’s Ukraine policy in light of the Afghanistan debacle.

“This is now the second evacuation of Americans in the course of –” Heinrich began.

“It’s not actually an evacuation,” Psaki interrupted.

“To be clear, American citizens can depart Ukraine. There are means of departing Ukraine. This is not a country where we are at war, where we have tens of thousands of troops who have been fighting a war for 20 years. So it’s incredibly different,” she said.

“Correct. You are correct in that. But it’s the second time we’ve urged American citizens to get out of a country,” Heinrich said in reply, leading Psaki to cite a number of times the State Department has urged Americans to leave a country.

“But these are the two major events that have happened under this administration,” Heinrich pressed until Psaki again interrupted.

Then Heinrich got the chance to ask her question.

“What does the administration say to critics who are looking at these two events and questioning his administration’s foreign policy approach?” she asked.

“Who is questioning us? Give me names,” Psaki asked.

“Plenty of Republicans,” Heinrich replied.

“Like who?”

“I could name off any number of Republicans,” Heinrich said.

“I’d love to know a name,” Psaki fired back.

“Goodness. Mitch McConnell,” Heinrich replied.

Psaki then launched into an explanation of why the Afghanistan withdrawal was a success.

“OK. Well, here’s what I would say to Mr. McConnell: The president ended a 20-year war in Afghanistan — a war that had cost us thousands of American lives, billions, trillions of dollars, and was a failed enterprise after 20 years.

“He was the first president to do that after many of his predecessors failed to take exactly that step. We knew it would be complicated. We knew it would be challenging. He had the courage to get our troops out of there and end a 20-year war.

“This is entirely different because we are not ending a 20-year war. We are trying to prevent war here. We are trying to keep American citizens safe in Ukraine by encouraging them to depart, by providing them information about what the security circumstances are on the ground. And I think it’s important for the American public to understand the significant differences between these different scenarios,” Psaki said.

After avoiding to answer the question she was asked, she then just moved on to another reporter’s question.

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Biden Caught Stumbling…

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(Freedomwire.org) – In a new interview, President Joe Biden proclaimed that he was unaware of an Army Intelligence report warning of the potential pitfalls of the withdrawal of United States troops in Afghanistan.

The host of the interview for NBC News that will air during Sunday’s Superbowl, Lester Holt, asked Biden about military leaders warning him and saying that the administration “ignored the handwriting on the wall.”

“Another described getting folks in the embassy ready to evacuate and encountering people who were essentially in denial of the situation. Does any of that ring true to you?” the host said.

“No. No. That’s not what I was told,” the president insisted.

“You were told that the U.S. administration officials were prepared, they knew it was time to get out?” the host said.

But Biden stumbled as he attempted to answer the question and not look inept and ridiculous.

“No, what I was told … no one told me that … look, there was no good time to get out. But if we had not gotten out, they acknowledged that we would have had to put a hell of a lot more troops back in. It wasn’t just 2,000, 4,000,” he said. “We would have had to significantly increase the number of troops and would be back in this war of attrition.”

Holt did his best to give the president a chance to answer again and actually address the question he was asked.

“I just want to clarify. Are you rejecting the conclusions or the accounts that are in this Army report?” he said.

“Yes, I am,” the president said.

“So they’re [the reports] not true?” the host pressed.

“I’m rejecting them,” the president said.

A report from Army intelligence claims that the White House and Senior Pentagon staff did not grasp how quickly the Taliban was gaining control in Afghanistan before they removed troops.

It said that the officials at the White House and Pentagon resisted efforts by military officials to prepare for the evacuation of its embassy personnel and Afghan allies weeks prior, The Washington Post reported.

An Army investigative report, numbering 2,000 pages and released to The Washington Post through a Freedom of Information Act request, details the life-or-death decisions made daily by U.S. soldiers and Marines sent to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands converged on the airfield in a frantic bid to escape.

Beyond the bleak, blunt assessments of top military commanders, the documents contain previously unreported disclosures about the violence American personnel experienced, including one exchange of gunfire that left two Taliban fighters dead after they allegedly menaced a group of U.S. Marines and Afghan civilians, and a separate incident in which U.S. troops killed a member of an elite Afghan strike unit and wounded six others after they fired on the Americans.

The investigation was launched in response to an Aug. 26 suicide bombing just outside the airport that killed an estimated 170 Afghan civilians and 13 U.S. service members. But it is much broader, providing perhaps the fullest official account yet of the evacuation operation, which spanned 17 nightmarish days and has become one of the Biden administration’s defining moments — drawing scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats for the haphazard nature in which the United States ended its longest war.

Military personnel would have been “much better prepared to conduct a more orderly” evacuation, Navy Rear Adm. Peter Vasely, the top U.S. commander on the ground during the operation, told Army investigators, “if policymakers had paid attention to the indicators of what was happening on the ground.” He did not identify any administration officials by name, but said inattention to the Taliban’s determination to complete a swift and total military takeover undermined commanders’ ability to ready their forces.

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