Afghan War 'a story of American failure', says US marine during Congressional hearing

At an hours-long congressional hearing on Wednesday, military personnel and Afghan War veterans gave heartbreaking eyewitness accounts of the bloody and disorganised departure from the nation's longest war. The Guardian reported that they also urged the Congress to support the remaining Afghan allies.

Many witnesses described their experiences as active-duty service members sent to help with the evacuation of US troops and civilians from Afghanistan as the Taliban came to power in August 2021 in harrowing, at times, gruesome detail. According to marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who was gravely hurt in the suicide explosion outside Kabul's airport that killed 13 American service members and dozens of Afghans, the withdrawal was a tragedy and there was an appalling lack of responsibility and negligence.

“The withdrawal was a catastrophe in my opinion and there was an inexcusable lack of accountability and negligence,” said the marine officer. He described scenes of desperate parents giving their children to soldiers in the hope that they would be saved, while others who were unable to flee chose to commit suicide rather than face the torture of the Taliban in a sad testimony.

'I see the faces of all the people we could not save', says former Army specialist

“Thoughts of those two weeks have plagued my mind since coming home,” said Aidan Gunderson, a former army specialist who left active duty in July. “I see the faces of all the people we could not save, all the people we left behind,” he added. Republicans conducted their first of what is anticipated to be several parts of their inquiry into how the Biden administration handled the departure from Afghanistan during the session.

The Afghan government and Army fell much more rapidly than expected after the president's decision to abruptly remove US soldiers, that came as a backdrop of Donald Trump's agreement with the Taliban pledging to have the US forces leave by May 2021. The aftermath was broadcast live around the world, with Afghans in need hanging to a US cargo jet just before takeoff.

"What happened in Afghanistan was a systemic breakdown of the federal government at every level," Congressman Michael, in the Republican chair of the committee, said in his introductory remarks, pledging to hold to account every government official liable for what he described as the "abdication of the most basic duties of the United States government to protect Americans and leave no one behind".

“If I leave this committee with only one thought it’s this: it’s not too late,” said Peter Lucier, a former marine who worked with Team America Relief to transfer allied Afghans, in his remarks to the panel. “This is not the story of a Biden failure or a Trump failure. This is the story of an American failure and the effect it has had and continues to have on Afghans who served alongside myself and so many others,” he continued.

According to McCaul, the US left more than "1,000 American citizens" and "almost 200,000" Afghan allies in Afghanistan during the chaos. The GOP chair pledged to get everyone who had been "left behind, the hell out of there," he claimed. 

Appearing under oath in his personal capacity, Vargas-Andrews informed the panel that he and other members of his team stationed in Kabul had located two guys who fit the description of those thought to be planning an attack on the Afghans trying to enter the Kabul airport in a large group. Vargas-Andrews, however, asserted that neither his captain nor his fellow soldiers had given the go-ahead for them to fire the suspects. Vargas-Andrews, who has endured 44 operations as a result of the attack said "the 11 Marines, one sailor, and one soldier that were murdered that day have not been answered for," The Guardian reported. 

Biden administration claims the US withdrawal was the 'right decision'

The Biden administration has justified how it handled the departure, claiming that it put an end to the US involvement in Afghanistan in a difficult but ultimately successful way. Gregory Meeks of New York, the committee's top Democrat, said Biden made the "right decision" in ending the conflict in Afghanistan, which he said "began as an effort to decimate al-Qaida".

“The operation ballooned into a nation-building exercise that lasted across four administrations and saw more than 800,000 US service members deploy, and, yes, the tragic deaths of over 2,461 Americans including the 13 killed during the evacuation operation,” Meeks added. 

All of the witnesses pleaded to the Congress members to take action to help the Afghans and their families who put their lives in danger to support US troops during the 20-year conflict. Many of those who were evacuated suffer legal uncertainty, while those who stay in Afghanistan risk reprisals from the Taliban. Witnesses, MPs, and audience members were moved to tears by the testimonies of individuals who assisted in the withdrawal as they disclosed the emotional and physical scars they carried.