New Delhi: The US House of Representatives passed a resolution Wednesday condemning the Biden-Harris administration for their role in the 2021 “chaotic” withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan that paved the way for the Taliban’s return.
“(US President Joe) Biden, supported by Vice President Harris, issued a “go-to-zero order” without any regard for the safety of Americans and without making appropriate plans for noncombatant evacuation operations,” the bill states.
Around 170 Afghan civilians and 13 American military servicemen were killed in a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport during the withdrawal in August 2021.
The resolution in the Republican majority lower house was passed 219-194, with 10 Democrats voting in favour. They included Maine’s Jared Golden, who is a former Marine, and Alaska’s Mary Peltola, Washington’s Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Texas’ Vicente Gonzalez Jr among others.
The passage of the bill in the lower chamber of the US Congress comes a month ahead of the US presidential elections. Vice President Kamala Harris — taking over the reins from Biden after he stepped out of the race in July — will rival former president Donald Trump. This was among the last votes in the House before members depart for a recess until after the 5 November elections.
The bill will now be deliberated in the Senate.
‘Accountability’ for Biden’s top officials
The resolution named key officials in the Biden-Harris administration, including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who were responsible for the decision-making behind the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“(The Biden administration) prioritised the politics and optics of the withdrawal from Afghanistan over the security of United States personnel and civilians on the ground and failed to plan for foreseeable contingencies, causing a chaotic, precipitous withdrawal,” it said.
Biden and Harris were determined to withdraw from Afghanistan regardless of the Doha Agreement, negotiated by Trump in 2020, it added.
Sullivan, as well as Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer and Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, have been accused of “disregarding” the failure of the Taliban to comply with the Doha Agreement.
“(They) did not seek input from key government officials, and blatantly ignored warnings from senior national security experts and allies of the United States that a complete withdrawal of troops would cause a total unraveling and collapse of Afghanistan,” it read.
In August 2021, shortly after the US, the UK and other NATO allies withdrew from Afghanistan — bringing to an end a two-decade war — the Taliban gained ground quickly while former President Ashraf Ghani and other leaders fled to neighbouring countries. The militant group came back to power after its previous stint in 1996-2001.
Two days after the Taliban takeover, a key US government agency said America was “overwhelmed” and had lacked a “coherent strategy” for the rebuilding of Afghanistan over the last 20 years.
In a report, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) pointed out major flaws in America’s $145 billion reconstruction effort in Afghanistan.
The US has been “overwhelmed” in rebuilding a country that had already been battered by Soviet occupation, civil war and Taliban rule, the report stated.
SIGAR was created by the US Congress in 2008 as its leading oversight authority on Afghanistan’s reconstruction.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)