Pete Hegseth Orders ‘Comprehensive Review’ of Biden Afghanistan Debacle
Secretary of State Pete Hegseth on Tuesday that he would order the Pentagon to engage in a “comprehensive review” of former President Joe Biden’s abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan — with a particular focus on the failures that led to a suicide bombing at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 American Service members.
Hegseth noted that, under his command, the Department of Defense had already concluded an initial review of the Biden administration’s decisions — which included extending the 20-year Afghan War beyond a May 1, 2021, deadline set under the first administration of President Donald Trump — but that the situation necessitated further review to ensure justice for those killed.
Biden announced in April 2021 that he would not respect an agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban to end the American military presence in the country, which began in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks. Instead, Biden said he initially hoped to keep troops in Afghanistan through the 20th anniversary of those attacks, but a Taliban terrorist spree effectively dismantled the Afghan military and sent then-President Ashraf Ghani fleeing, leading to an abrupt and poorly executed removal of American forces.
Following Biden’s announcement of his intention to extend the Afghan War, which he called a “withdrawal,” the Taliban launched over 22,000 attacks in the four months following that decision. Hundreds of Afghan soldiers fled the battlefield, flooding neighboring Tajikistan. The Taliban arrived in Kabul on August 15, 2021 and seized control of the country without a challenge.
On August 26, amid the chaos of thousands of Afghans desperately trying to flee the country and the return of the Taliban, a suicide bomber, later identified as an Islamic State terrorist, detonated an explosive near Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate, killing an estimated 170 Afghans packed tightly in a chaotic crowd. Among those killed were also 13 American Service members, making the bombing the largest single-day loss of American troops in Afghanistan in a decade.
Those killed in the attack were identified as:
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California.
Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California.
Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska.
Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California.
Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio.
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul had warned Americans to stay away from the airport entirely due to “security threats” days before the attack, suggesting some intelligence that could have been used to save lives, but neither the Biden administration nor the Taliban have ever offered a full explanation for the security failure. At press time, no American officials have faced accountability for the failure.
“Biden’s administration led a chaotic withdrawal of U.S. military and embassy officials from Afghanistan that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. Service members and 170 civilians in a suicide bombing at Kabul International Airport’s Abbey Gate,” Hegseth wrote in a letter published on Tuesday. “President Trump and I have formally pledged full transparency for what transpired during our military withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
“Over the last three months, the Department has been engaged in a review of this catastrophic event in our military’s history,” he explained. “I have concluded that we need to conduct a comprehensive review to ensure that accountability for this event is met and that the complete picture is provided to the American people.”
Hegseth identified Sean Parnell, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, to organize a panel to “thoroughly examine previous investigations, to include but not limited to, findings of fact, sources, witnesses, and analyze the decision-making that led to one of America’s darkest and deadliest international moments.”
“This team will ensure ACCOUNTABILITY to the American people and the warfighters of our great Nation,” the secretary of defense asserted.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, Hegseth condemned Biden’s “disastrous and embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan” and reiterated that the Trump administration is prioritizing justice for American troops.
“We have an obligation to the American people and to the warfighters who fought in Afghanistan to get the truth — and we will,” Hegseth wrote.
He noted in this statement that Parnell, in charge of the investigation, “spent 485 days serving in Afghanistan. Sean was wounded in action along with 85% of his platoon and lost countless friends to the War on Terror.”
The Trump administration had already announced major progress in the process of bringing justice to those killed in the Abbey Gate attack. In March, American authorities captured and transferred a terrorist known as “Jafar” to the United States, identified as the mastermind of the bombing.
American agents “interviewed him and he confessed to Abbey Gate and he confessed to more than 20 terrorist massacres,” Dr. Sebastian Gorka, President Donald Trump’s Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council in the White House, told Breitbart News in an interview last week. Gorka estimated that “Jafar” was responsible for killing “probably over a thousand” people in over 20 terrorist attacks.
The Trump administration has made justice for the Abbey Gate families a priority even before Trump’s first term began. During the Republican National Convention in 2024, Trump offered a platform to loved ones of the Americans lost in that attack.
“While Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice, Donald Trump spent six hours at Bedminster with us,” Christy Shamblin, a relative of Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, said in her remarks. “He allowed us to grieve. He allowed us to remember our heroes. Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names, he knew their stories, and he spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood — like he knew our kids.”
Hegseth raised the issue of the bombing during his confirmation hearing in January.
“There has been no accountability for the disaster of the withdrawal in Afghanistan, and that’s precisely why we’re here today,” he told the Senate. “Leadership has been unwilling to take accountability and it’s time to restore that to our most senior ranks.”
