House Foreign Affairs Report: Biden Left Taliban $7B in Weapons After Afghanistan Withdrawal

Gold Star families of US military members who were killed at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan in August 2021 speak during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has released its startling 354-page report on the disastrous Biden Administration Afghanistan withdrawal of U.S. troops. 

The three-year report criticized the Biden administration for failing to anticipate the Taliban’s takeover and neglecting to prepare for the orderly departure of non-combat personnel. 

The erratic decision led to a horrendous evacuation effort and numerous American civilians and U.S.-allied Afghans left stranded and killed by the Taliban. 

“Our investigation reveals the Biden-Harris administration had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, so we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, green card holders, and our brave Afghan allies,” Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a statement Sunday.

“At each step of the way, however, the administration picked optics over security.”

Additionally, the report reveals testimony from 18 administration officials including Gen. Austin Miller, former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and former acting ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson.

The report states that the Biden Administration’s decision led to classified documents and military equipment being left behind worth over $7 billion as well as the death of 13 service members who were killed by a suicide bomber at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

Additionally, the report states that the agencies failed to coordinate and accuse the White House of faltering to listen to recommendations to leave a small military presence in place. 

However, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby insisted that “there was no handover of US equipment to the Taliban,” in response to the damning report. 

“That equipment had been provided to Afghan security forces appropriately and with congressional approval over the course of two decades of war,” he said. “That equipment was left by those Afghan forces when they surrendered or stopped fighting.”

“The Taliban claim to have recovered 40 operational aircraft from the former Afghan government, including two Mi-17 helicopters, two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, two MD-530 light helicopters, two Mi-24 helicopter gunships, and one fixed-wing transport aircraft — all of which have since been observed flying according to the UN Sanctions Monitoring,” the report said.

Meanwhile, some of that equipment was seen just last month, when Taliban fighters hosted a military parade to celebrate the three-year anniversary of recapturing Kabul.

“During the parade, the Taliban showcased their ability to operate tanks, helicopters, and Humvees left behind by U.S. and coalition forces,” the report said.

Furthermore, the equipment left behind also included key technological tools and sensitive databases that put Afghans who were helping the U.S. at great risk. 

“American technology has empowered the Taliban to systematically target Afghan allies,” the committee said. “A 2022 report by the Defense Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) of NATO discovered the Taliban gained access to US military-maintained biometric devices and databases after the withdrawal.”

“The biometric devices in question are enabled to recognize fingerprint, eye scan, and facial information, and the DEEP report warned that the Taliban had access to biometric data allowing them to identify civilians that worked with the United States or NATO.”

McCaul also said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that the Taliban “goes door to door [and] checks fingerprints” of residents before torturing and killing those found to have assisted the US and NATO.

During the time of the botched withdrawal, the military cut off the installation’s water and left in the middle of the night, keeping the base’s new Afghan commander unaware about the withdrawal. 

“Afghan General Mir Asadullah Kohistani — who took over command of Bagram for the Afghan military — asserted he heard a ‘rumor that the Americans had left Bagram … and finally by seven o’clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram,’” the report said.

“Darwaish Raufi — Afghanistan’s district administrator for Bagram — confirmed General Kohistani’s account, stating the U.S. departure from Bagram had occurred without proper coordination with local Afghan officials.”

However, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command at the time, denied the allegation when asked by the committee.

“We did this in close coordination with our allies and partners,” he told the committee. “Every departure of every element was carefully synchronized across the coalition and with our Afghan partners. On no occasion were they caught unaware by our movements.”

Meanwhile, McCaul said he expects the panel involved with the report to continue to investigate and will obtain testimony from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

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