Last month, amid the chaotic and tragic final days of America’s longest war, it looked as if a Democratic Congress would perform honest oversight of a Democratic administration. But, it didn’t last long, as Congress fell back into largely partisan camps, Democrats wanting to spread the blame around and trumpeting: Don’t blame President Joe Biden for losing an unwinnable war.
Republicans aren’t much better, as too many want to forget the treacherous negotiations with the Taliban conducted by former President Donald Trump’s administration.
This failure is not surprising, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Serious members of Congress should create an independent, bipartisan commission to examine the failures of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. They should examine four distinct sets of questions:
- who and how many Afghans and Americans were left behind;
- whether intelligence about the resilience of Afghanistan’s government and army was ignored or useless;
- why the US military abandoned Bagram Airbase before American civilians were out of the country;
- what role Pakistan’s military played in the Taliban’s successful campaign to topple Afghanistan’s elected government;
The value of an independent commission is that it would offer some insulation from the daily pressures of Washington politics and would also have the time to sort through the blame game already unfolding not only between the parties but also among the military, intelligence and diplomatic communities.
The US will be suffering the consequences of its defeat in Afghanistan for years. It has already paid a price in global reputation, among both allies and adversaries. If recent warnings are correct, Afghanistan will soon become a safe haven for international terrorism yet again. An independent commission would give future presidents a chance to learn from this blunder, and citizens a chance to hold their current leaders accountable.