(DCWatchdog.com) – A new report indicates that President Joe Biden and the Biden administration knowingly lied to the American people during the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Specifically, Biden and his administration lied to the world about the number of United States citizens left behind during the hasty, chaotic, poorly planned retreat of American forces.
And, no matter what you think about getting out of Afghanistan – most of our staff are glad the United States is out after 20 years – it is imperative that our nation’s leaders, from any political party, be honest with the American public.
And, that goes double when it comes to matters of national security.
Unfortunately, in this case, as the Daily Caller notes in “US Government Left As Many As 9,000 American Citizens In Afghanistan After Withdrawal, Senate Report Reveals”:
“As many as 9,000 American citizens were left in Afghanistan when the U.S. military withdrew from the country Aug. 31, according to a report released Thursday by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“In public statements, Biden administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, claimed that only 100-150 Americans remained in Afghanistan and had contacted the U.S. government with a desire to leave. The State Department and Defense Department officials stuck to that number, even as the government publicly admitted that large numbers of American citizens were still leaving the country.” [emphasis added]
Further, and most significant:
“Contributing the failure was the Biden administration’s lack of preparation for the execution of the withdrawal. National security officials were still working to formulate a withdrawal plan a day before Kabul fell to the Taliban, despite the fact that Biden announced that American forces would withdraw from Afghanistan four months before the collapse of the U.S.-allied government. The National Security Council failed to coordinate withdrawal operations between the State and Defense departments, and rapid troop withdrawals exacerbated the failed evacuation process, according to the report.” [emphasis added]
Again, as U.S. Senator Risch notes in his tweet below, we can all disagree about whether it was time for the United States to leave Afghanistan. However, we should all agree that it is unacceptable for a presidential administration to lie about the process and, in this case, the number of Americans left in extreme danger.
While there's disagreement over the policy to leave #Afghanistan, Americans share outrage over how the admin. withdrew, & what that failure has done to America’s reputation. This morning I released a report that details what went wrong & why.
More.⤵️https://t.co/3KprqWalP1
— Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member (@SenateForeign) February 3, 2022
