The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs convened to assess the State Department's withdrawal from Afghanistan, spotlighting the chaotic end to a 20-year military engagement. The discussion underscored that the withdrawal was set in motion by former President Donald Trump’s Doha deal with the Taliban, which began a phased troop reduction from 14,000 to just 2,500 by January 2020.

The Biden administration faced the daunting task of crafting a comprehensive withdrawal and contingency plan, acknowledging the potential for renewed conflict if the Taliban were to abandon the agreement. The situation escalated dramatically when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled, leading to the swift collapse of the Afghan government and security forces. This chaos prompted a historic airlift operation, with State Department personnel and military colleagues successfully relocating over 124,000 individuals.

While the committee members recognized the necessity of ending the prolonged conflict, they also emphasized the need for a thorough examination of the withdrawal process. Acknowledging that no withdrawal is flawless, they called for a bipartisan assessment of the decisions made across four administrations, rather than attributing blame solely to the Biden administration.

The anticipated Afghanistan War Commission's report, due in 2026, is expected to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the events and decisions that shaped the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. The committee's discussions highlighted the importance of learning from the past to honor the sacrifices of the nearly 800,000 Americans who served in the region, including the 2,461 military personnel who lost their lives.