A “comprehensive review” was also ordered in August 2021 of the US’s chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US is considering whether to designate the Taliban, the ruler of Afghanistan, as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
“I believe the classification is now under review,” Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a hearing at Capitol Hill, Washington on Wednesday.
The response was a refuge operation in which 13 US service members and 150 Afghans were killed at ISIL (ISIS) bombing Kabul Airport the day after U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses ordered a “comprehensive review” of the US’s chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
In a memo on Tuesday, Hegseth said a comprehensive review is needed to ensure accountability for the event after assessing the withdrawal for three months.
“This is an important step to regaining faith and trust between the American people and all those who wear uniforms, and is wise based on the number of casualties and equipment lost during the execution of this withdrawal task,” writes Hegses.
Former President Joe Biden, who oversaw the pull, denounced the resulting confusion over the initial Donald Trump administration’s lack of military planning and cutting back, following a contract with the Taliban to accelerate its withdrawal.
Trump signed a contract with the Taliban in Doha in February 2020, aiming to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan, beginning with the withdrawal of around 4,000 troops “within a few months.”
The Trump administration at the time had agreed to withdraw from the country by May 2021 if the Taliban negotiated a peace agreement with the Afghan government and committed to preventing internationally designated terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL.
After taking office in January 2021, Biden said he must either respect the agreement with the Taliban, which could require additional troops in Afghanistan, or put new conflicts at risk.
On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump frequently criticized Biden and his administration for withdrawing, saying the way it was “the most embarrassing day in our country’s history.” Trump said the withdrawal should have been “dignity, power and power.”
Senior US officials, including then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and then-U.S. General Mark Mirei, have already appeared before lawmakers to testify about the withdrawal.
The war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 was the longest war in the United States, surpassing Vietnam.
It remains unclear how the Hegseth review differs from many previous reviews conducted by the US military, the State Department and Trump Republicans in the House of Representatives.
The US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, is also investigating an ISIL attack on Kabul in the last days of its withdrawal.