The Inspector-General of the State Department has announced an investigation into the efforts that Biden made, leading to the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
State Department to probe Biden’s wrongdoings
Dianna Shaw, the acting Inspector General of the State Department, notified Congress the department would probe the evacuation of the US embassy in Afghanistan, Biden’s Special Immigration Visa (SIV) program, and Afghans trying to seek refugee in the US.
The probe will not be limited to Afghans’ national withdrawal only, but will also seek an in-depth study into the US nationals and military withdrawal. Shaw broke the news to Congress, saying the department will launch “several oversight projects” regarding US diplomatic and military engagements in Afghanistan.
While writing a letter to the congressional Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committee, Shaw stated she wanted to let the legislative branch know about this important inquiry. This subject will also require coordination between Inspector Generals of different agencies.
The State Department's inspector general informed Congress that her office is opening a series of investigations into the Biden admin.’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a letter obtained by @NBCNews. https://t.co/QYsbiX1IJr
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 18, 2021
Meanwhile, Politico reported the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (and the special IG of Afghanistan reconstruction) is also likely to probe the same incidents soon.
Inspector Generals of other departments can follow suit to investigate Biden
Keith Kellogg (the former National Security advisor who served under Trump) scolded Biden for the Afghan withdrawal. Kellogg claimed the vacuum left in Afghanistan is worse than that of Iraq and Syria, which created ISIS and other warring factions.
While the probe is being widely perceived as an investigation, Shaw’s spokesperson labeled it a “review.” He said the process would require the IGs of other departments as well to play their part. Likewise, the spokesperson stated they are seeking reviews and not investigations.
The killing of in-service US troop members at the Kabul airport blast is one of the reasons to mobilize the Department of State, as the Biden administration came under rigorous scrutiny after the incident.
Similarly, the botched airstrike of the Biden administration on innocent civilians, instead of the ISIS fighters, also contributed to heaping up the crisis. It is a common perception the US failure in pulling out troops from Afghanistan was the result of failed coordination between different departments.
Therefore, the investigation of various IGs is likely to have sparkling dissimilarities.
Pres. Biden has defended his decision to pull out U.S. troops from Afghanistan. It took the Taliban less than 2 weeks to retake control of the country, displacing ~390,000 people.
The U.S. invaded Afghanistan 20 yrs ago. Since then, 47,000+ Afghan civilians have been killed. pic.twitter.com/GrPXYkwd7X
— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 16, 2021
The most prominent aspect of the State Department review will be an in-depth analysis of the Special Immigration Visas, which has sparked a lot of controversies recently.
The Biden administration came under criticism for welcoming former civil servants of Afghanistan who served under the Taliban’s first rule. As more than 18,000 applications remain in process with no real sign of progress, the SIV program became the epicenter of criticism.
However, time and time again, Biden defended the whole process. He also criticized people who wanted him to extend the war, despite the fact former military leaders called for the mass resignations of US diplomatic and military service members.
