U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs
09/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/09/2024 00:10
ICYMI: Chairman McCaul on “Face the Nation” Discussing the Findings of the Committee’s Afghanistan Investigation
Media Contact 202-226-8467
Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul joined Margaret Brennan on CBS' "Face the Nation" to detail the findings of his investigation into the Biden-Harris administration's chaotic and deadly Afghanistan withdrawal.
- Highlights from the interview -
On growing instability around the world following the Biden-Harris administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan:
"What happened after Afghanistan impacted the world. Why? Because Putin responded by invading Ukraine, two months after Afghanistan fell. Chairman Xi [and] Putin made an unholy alliance in Beijing, threatening the Pacific now, and then the Ayatollah reared his ugly head in the Middle East, and we're seeing this… The Bagram prisons unleashed thousands of ISIS-K prisoners that went to the Khorasan region. Eight of those, and that's who we know about, have been detained by the FBI in the United States that got in through the southwest border. This is a failed foreign policy colliding with a failed border policy all at the same time."
On the importance of honoring those killed during the Abbey Gate terrorist attack:
"This was one of the deadliest days in Afghanistan. It could have been prevented [if] the State Department did its job by law and executed the plan of evacuation. They did not do that until the day the Taliban invaded and overran Kabul. By that time, it was too late. They left these 13 servicemen and women hanging out to dry. 170 Afghans killed. 45 service members and Afghans [were] injured as a result of the I'd say, moral negligence on the part of the administration [by] allowing this to happen."
On the Biden-Harris administration's failure to abide by the Doha Agreement:
"The Taliban was in violation of the Doha [Agreement]. That's why Trump left 2,500 troops. When President Biden came into office, it was very clear: go-to-zero. In fact, his press guy said it's 'immaterial.' [The] Doha Agreement is 'immaterial' to us going to zero. We're getting the hell out of there, irrespective of conditions on the ground."
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