118 HRES 1469 EH: Ensuring accountability for key officials in the Biden-Harris administration responsible for decisionmaking and execution failures throughout the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
U.S. House of Representatives
2024-09-25
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
IV
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1469
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
September 25, 2024
RESOLUTION
Ensuring accountability for key officials in the Biden-Harris administration responsible for decisionmaking and execution failures throughout the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Whereas, throughout the Biden-Harris administration, key White House, National Security Council, Department of State, and Department of Defense officials prioritized 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 that resulted in the death of 13 servicemembers and the wounding of 45 servicemembers in the Abbey Gate terrorist attack on August 26, 2021;
Whereas, in 2020, the Trump administration negotiated a conditional plan to withdraw from Afghanistan called “The Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan”, commonly known as the Doha Agreement, which required the Taliban to cease terrorist activities, renounce linkages with al Qaeda, reduce violence, establish a ceasefire, and participate in Afghan-to-Afghan negotiations with the Government of Afghanistan;
Whereas the Biden-Harris administration was determined to withdraw from Afghanistan regardless of the Doha Agreement and the costs of withdrawal;
Whereas, in 2021, under the Biden-Harris administration, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, baselessly asserted the Taliban would honor their commitments and respect basic human rights;
Whereas, in 2021, President Biden selected National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan to conduct an interagency review of the policy of the United States toward Afghanistan, including the Taliban’s compliance with the Doha Agreement;
Whereas the review process led by National Security Advisor Sullivan, Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer, and Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall completely disregarded the failure of the Taliban to comply with the Doha Agreement, 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 the Government of Aghanistan;
Whereas President 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;
Whereas the Department of State’s leadership responsible for the safety of embassy personnel and civilian evacuation plans included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Brian McKeon, and Counselor for the Department of State Derek Chollet;
Whereas, during the military withdrawal from April to July 2021, Secretary of State Blinken, Ambassador Ross Wilson, other Department of State officials, and the National Security Council willfully disregarded warnings of the Taliban’s imminent takeover in Afghanistan and instead increased the footprint of Embassy Kabul rather than plan for a noncombatant evacuation operation;
Whereas, in early August 2021, as the Taliban made gains across Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl, and other senior officials purportedly advised that positioning United States military forces to assist with a noncombatant evacuation operation was not immediately necessary, contrary to urgent warnings from United States military personnel on the ground;
Whereas Secretary of State Blinken and his State Department did not call for a noncombatant evacuation operation until the Taliban began marching into Kabul on August 15, 2021;
Whereas Secretary of State Blinken and his State Department had not made determinations about who would be eligible for evacuation, and had not effectuated agreements with third countries to serve as transit points prior to the noncombatant evacuation operation;
Whereas the willful refusal to plan for a timely civilian evacuation caused chaos in Kabul and an untenable security situation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport;
Whereas, on August 26, 2021, the Biden-Harris administration’s chaotic, precipitous withdrawal, willful refusal to properly plan for a noncombatant evacuation operation, and decision to rely on the Taliban to run checkpoints surrounding the airport resulted in a terrorist attack by ISIS–K at Abbey Gate that killed 185 people, including 13 United States servicemembers;
Whereas the suicide bomber at Abbey Gate was among thousands of militants released by the Taliban from Afghan prisons as they marched on Kabul;
Whereas, in August 2021, the Biden-Harris administration left behind approximately 1,000 Americans;
Whereas the Biden-Harris administration left behind $7,000,000,000 worth of United States weapons and up to $57,000,000 in United States currency that could be used by the Taliban and other terrorist regimes;
Whereas President Biden, Vice President Harris, National Security Advisor Sullivan, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, White House National Security Communications Advisor, and Defense Department Spokesperson John Kirby, and the Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price repeatedly and materially misrepresented to the people of the United States the state of affairs in Afghanistan and the withdrawal;
Whereas, since the Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal, the Taliban has carried out brutal reprisal killings of Afghan Government officials and individuals who assisted the United States and our allies, and created a safe haven for terrorist groups who seek to harm the United States;
Whereas the Biden administration had been warned the precipitous withdrawal would cause women’s rights to “go back to the Stone Age”, and since the withdrawal, women’s rights have been rescinded and child marriages have skyrocketed;
Whereas the Biden-Harris administration’s catastrophic withdrawal has emboldened our adversaries, and once again made the United States vulnerable to terrorist attacks;
Whereas the Biden-Harris administration refuses any accountability for the disastrous withdrawal; instead, Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl said “Americans should be immensely proud” and Press Secretary Psaki stated the withdrawal was “a success”;
Whereas Vice President Harris said she was the last person in the room before President Biden made the final decision on the withdrawal and was described by an advisor as being “100 percent all in” on the decision; and
Whereas our Nation’s most senior leaders, including the President and Vice President, failed in their responsibilities on behalf of the people of the United States and have not been held accountable for the death and destruction their failures caused: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives condemns each of the following individuals for their role in the Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and noncombatant evacuation operation, which led to the injury and death of United States servicemembers, injury and death of Afghan civilians, abandonment of American civilians and our Afghan allies, and harm to the national security and international stature of the United States:
(1)
Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States.
(2)
Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States.
(3)
Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor.
(4)
Jonathan Finer, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor.
(5)
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Deputy National Security Advisor.
(6)
John Kirby, White House National Security Communications Advisor; former Spokesperson, the Department of Defense.
(7)
Jen Psaki, Former Press Secretary, White House.
(8)
Antony Blinken, Secretary, the Department of State.
(9)
Brian McKeon, Former Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, the Department of State.
(10)
Ross Wilson, Ambassador and former Chief of Mission to United States Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan, the Department of State.
(11)
Zalmay Khalilzad, Ambassador and former United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, the Department of State.
(12)
Ned Price, Deputy to the United States Representative to the United Nations and former Spokesperson, the Department of State.
(13)
Lloyd Austin, Secretary, the Department of Defense.
(14)
Derek Chollet Chief of Staff to the Secretary, the Department of Defense; Former Counselor, the Department of State.
(15)
Colin Kahl, Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the Department of Defense.
Kevin F. McCumber,
Clerk.