House Republicans will hold their first hearing on the botched 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan since they took back the majority.
“What happened in Afghanistan was a systemic breakdown of the federal government at every level — and a stunning failure of leadership by the Biden administration. As a result, the world watched heartbreaking scenes unfold in and around the Kabul airport,” McCaul said in a statement.
“I want every gold and blue star family member, and every veteran out there who watch this hearing to know: I will not rest until we determine how this happened — and hold those accountable responsible," he added.who worked for the U.S. government and applied for special visas, according to a report last year from the Association of Wartime Allies, a nonprofit nongovernmental organization.
Several GOP-led committees, including the House Armed Services and Oversight panels, are investigating the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. But in inviting veterans to testify Wednesday, the Foreign Affairs Committee wants to draw attention to the human toll of the chaotic withdrawal.
Among those testifying will be Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who was deployed with his sniper team to the Kabul airport to help with the evacuation. He was nearly killed in the bombing at Abbey Gate on Aug. 26, 2021. Vargas-Andrews lost multiple organs and two limbs, and he has had 44 operations since that day.Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images file
Others who will appear include Scott Mann, a former Green Beret who served multiple tours in Afghanistan and founded Task Force Pineapple, which helped evacuate roughly 1,000 Afghan allies from the country, and Aiden Gunderson, a former Army combat medic who was deployed twice to Afghanistan and assisted with the evacuation.
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