With control of the House of Representatives shifting to the Republicans, there has been an effort to try and hold the Biden administration accountable for what happened in Afghanistan.

Lest we ever forget, Afghanistan was a massive foreign policy failure for Joe Biden and his entire administration. As much as Biden may try to dodge responsibility, the fact remains that his rear end was sitting in the Oval Office when people were falling off airplanes, when helicopters were taking Americans out of the embassy, when 13 American servicemembers died in a terrorist attack (along with so many civilians), as the Taliban steamrolled across the country and took over within a weekend, as billions of dollars of military gear and equipment was left behind, and as innocent civilians were killed in a drone strike. Remember, NOT A SINGLE PERSON was disciplined, reprimanded, or fired for what happened in Afghanistan.

Representative James Comer (R-KY) is now head of the House Oversight Committee. Today’s hearing was focused on the failures in Afghanistan, and getting an update from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), John Sopko. Sopko has been the SIGAR since 2012, and was an Obama appointee. His testimony today was not good news. At all.

Thank you for telling the truth, Mr. Sopko

— Matt Bentley (@_mattbentley) April 19, 2023

As detailed in the SIGAR report provided by Sopko, the United States committed $8 billion for the people of Afghanistan AFTER the withdrawl from the country. Due to a variety of problems, there is a high likelihood that the money is getting into the hands of the Taliban.

“While I agree, and we all agree Afghanistan faces a dire humanitarian and economic situation, it is critical that our assistance not be diverted by the Taliban,” John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), told the House Oversight Committee. “Unfortunately, as I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban.”

“Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, which are the poor Afghan people,” he said.”

“I would just say, I haven’t seen a starving Taliban fighter on TV, they all seem to be fat, dumb, and happy,” Sopko later added. “I see a lot of starving Afghan children on TV, so I’m wondering where all this funding is going.”

No regrets, though, right??? RIGHT???

Sopko’s testimony before Congress – alongside other government inspectors general – coincided with the release of the latest SIGAR report, which said that efforts to process Afghan visa applications or refugee applications are chronically understaffed and face a backlog of approximately 175,000 applicants.”

“According to one estimate, at the current pace, it will take 31 years to relocate and resettle all SIV applicants,” SIGAR wrote in the report, called the 2023 High-Risk List.”

Initially tasked with overseeing US spending in Afghanistan when the US had a large presence in the country, SIGAR is now focused on monitoring more than $8 billion dedicated to Afghanistan since the US withdrawal.”

Instead of dealing directly with the Taliban, with which the US has no formal ties, the Biden administration has tried to direct the money into Afghanistan through international organizations and NGOs. But without US observers on the ground to monitor the use of the funding, SIGAR warns in its latest report that aid to the Afghan people could be diverted before it reaches its intended recipient.”

The lack of effective oversight increases the risk that the US funds will end up in the wrong hands, “subjected to waste, fraud, and abuse,” SIGAR wrote.”

Sopko also made it clear that as far as his office is concerned, they are being obstructed by the Executive Branch, calling the lack of cooperation “unprecendented” since he’s been SIGAR.

Inspector General John Sopko torches the Biden administration for their "unprecedented" refusal to cooperate with investigators over Biden's botched Afghanistan withdrawal pic.twitter.com/nkbTCW6ndy

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 19, 2023

Representative Clay Higgins (R-LA) also wanted to know, given the testimony of Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, why the terror attack that cost 13 Americans their lives wasn’t stopped.

We all know that the Biden administration, and all the connected cabinet departments that could bear even a shred of blame for the death, destruction, and chaos that marked the Afghanistan withdrawl, are desperate to shove it under the rug. They don’t want hard questions asked, because the answers make them look bad – which is why they are desperate to shift the blame to the Trump administration. Like it or not, Old Man Biden’s ass was sitting behind the Resolute desk when the decision was made. The buck stops where, again?

Republicans MUST NOT let Joe Biden and Kamala Harris walk away from their culpability regarding the Afghanistan withdrawl. The House Oversight Committee’s work is important, but what will be even more crucial is We The People demanding accountability when Joe Biden wants another four years in office. Every one of the 13 Americans who were murdered were just as important to their families as Beau Biden was to his father – and we never stop hearing about Beau’s service to his country. As the presidential election season begins in earnest, Joe Biden needs to be constantly reminded that his actions, inactions, and decisions cost lives.

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