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At a hearing Wednesday, Republican House lawmakers focused on the final months of the War in Afghanistan that lead to a tumultuous and deadly evacuation in the summer of 2021, while Democrats aimed to blame former President Donald Trumps negotiations with the Taliban for the collapse of the countrys U.S.-backed government after 20 years of fighting.

Today, the Taliban flag flies over Kabul, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said. This is Joe Bidens legacy.

Comer conceded no single hearing can tell two decades worth of decisions that could have been made differently across four presidencies, but laid the blame at Bidens feet for an chaotic evacuation that saw 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members killed by an ISIS suicide bomber.

Democrats took a more expansive view, criticizing the successive administrations who oversaw the United States longest war, but also zeroing in on Trumps withdrawal negotiations and arguing they handcuffed the Afghan government and Biden into a no-win situation.

Joe Biden was president during seven of the 238 months of the war, said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member on the Oversight Committee. Understanding what led to the collapse of Afghan government and security forces is vitally important, but it requires looking comprehensively at the dynamics of the massive decades-long military and nation building failure, not just the last few months of the war.

Raskin called Trumps decision to exclude the Afghan government from his negotiations with Taliban disastrous and his winding down of U.S. troop presence to just 2,500 military personnel by the end of his term a calculated move to force Bidens hand.

At the Wednesday hearing, inspectors general from the Defense Department, the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction testified and took questions for over two hours.

Robert Storch, the Defense Departments inspector general, called the war a strategic failure. Diana Shaw, the State Departments acting inspector general, testified the department simply was not fully prepared for the evacuation. SIGARs inspector general John Sopko that the effort to stabilize Afghanistan after two decades of war was the result of many decisions made over the course of four presidential administrations, from ignoring rapid corruption and the lack of a consistent U.S. strategy to the inability to develop self-sustaining Afghan military forces and institutions.

The seeds of August 2021s drama were sewn many years before, Sopko continued, noting the 2020 negotiations with the Taliban dubbed the Doha Agreement and the subsequent decision to go through with the withdrawal in 2021, merely exacerbated long-existing problems.

Sopko said both the negotiated withdrawal and Bidens decision to follow through dramatically degraded the morale of the Afghan security forces, who relied heavily on U.S. support to keep the Taliban at bay.

In their ownafter-action reportreleased earlier this month, the Biden administration blamed former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the Afghan military for the collapse of the western-backed government during and after the U.S. evacuation.

No agency predicted a Taliban takeover in nine days, Kirby said when the report was sent to Congress. No agency predicted the rapid fleeing of President Ghani, who had indicated to us his intent to remain in Afghanistan up until he departed on the 15th of August. And no agency predicted that the more than 300,000 trained and equipped Afghan national security and defense forces would fail to fight for the country. Especially after 20 years of American support.

ButSIGAR reported in Februarythat the Afghan military felt abandoned and noted a decrease in U.S. airstrikes left them without a key advantage in their fight against the Taliban, who began capturing provincial capitals in early August 2021 in anticipation of the U.S. withdrawal.

Raskin asked Sopko Wednesday if the Doha Agreement emboldened the Taliban to increase their attacks on the Afghan military.

Yes, it did. It did. And if you talk to the Afghan generals and the people who are on the ground, which we did, theyll tell you that is exactly what happened, Sopko said.

Sopko also said then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to cut funding to the Afghan government if they didnt agree to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners, a move Kabul initially opposed.

Another central focus of the hearing was the flow of international aid into the country that is ending up in the pockets of the Taliban instead of being distributed to the Afghan people.

The United States has appropriated $2 billion for Afghanistan assistance since the withdrawal, and a further $3.5 billion may be available through this newly created Switzerland-based Afghan fund, Sopko said. 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, Sopko added.

Sopko also said the State Department and USAID are not cooperating with SIGAR as they seek to assess the flow of U.S. and international aid into the country, though he made clear to differentiate between the inspectors general and the agencies they watchdog over.

I havent seen a starving Taliban fighter on TV. They all seem to be fat, dumb and happy, Sopko said. I see a lot of starving Afghan children on TV. So, Im wondering, where is all this funding going?

As the hearing unfolded, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre contradicted Sopko and said the administration was supplying thousands of pages of documents and consistent updates to inspectors general.

Nicole Angarella, the acting deputy inspector general for USAID, which currently does not have an inspector general, laid out three actions she believes the agency should take to prevent fraud and corruption: stricter oversight, clearly defined performance objectives, and strengthening existing policies to combat graft and funds ending up in the hands of groups like the Taliban.

Regardless of role and party affiliation, all those who participated in the hearing were in agreement on one thing: the war that began when most of the last 13 U.S. service members to die in Afghanistanwere toddlers or infantsended in disaster.

The Afghan war cost the lives of more than 2,400 American service members, 3846 private contractors, more than 1100 allied service members, more than 66,000 National Afghan military and police and 47,245 Afghan civilians, without even getting into the Taliban side, Raskin said.

The Democrats summary of casualties may be an undercount. A2021 analysisby Brown University found the U.S. spent $2.3 trillion on a war directly resulting in 243,000 deaths across Afghanistan and Pakistan, including over 70,000 civilians.

But the researchers wrote, deaths caused by disease, loss of access to food, water, infrastructure, and/or other indirect consequences of the war did not count towards the nearly quarter million dead.

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GOP, Dems trade blame, seek answers over Afghanistan withdrawal - Spectrum News NY1

The Afghanistan Socio-Economic Outlook 2023, released by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), provides an overview of the fallout resulting from the takeover of Afghanistan by its present-day de facto rulers, the Taliban, in August 2021.

Immediately after the Taliban assumed power, the Afghan economy collapsed, accelerating Afghanistans decade-long slide into poverty; with a population estimated by the UN at about 40 million and GDP of $14.3 billion in 2021, Afghanistan is among the countries with the lowest per capita income in the world, with around 85 per cent of the population estimated to be living below the poverty line.

Displaced children livingi in Khoshi District in Afghanistan receive hygeine kits.

Whilst the report points to some encouraging signs (a rise in exports, an expected eight percent increase in domestic fiscal revenue, stabilization of the exchange rate, and a reduction in inflation), it explains that this is largely down to the large-scale international aid funding ($3.7 billion in 2022, $3.2 billion of which was provided by the UN) sent to Afghanistan in 2022.

This does not point to a lasting recovery: income per person is expected to decline this year and in 2024: UNDP modelling suggests that, if aid drops by 30 per cent, inflation could reach 10 percent in 2024, and average incomes could fall by 40 per cent.

Any reduction in international aid will worsen the economic prospects of Afghanistan, and extreme poverty will perpetuate for decades: the UN aid appeal of $4.6 billion for international assistance in 2023 is therefore the minimum required to help Afghans in need.

Surayo Buzurukova, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Afghanistan, told UN News that the Talibans decision to highly restrict womens ability to study and work is an important reason for the economic woes of the country.

We have run simulations to see how the removal of women from the workforce will affect the economy going forward, said Ms. Buzurukova. We calculated that it will not be possible to achieve growth and reduce poverty without women. Thats the message we try to deliver when we speak to the de facto authorities.

Ms. Buzurukova remains hopeful that the situation will, eventually become less oppressive for women, particularly in the provinces, where the support of women aid workers is in high demand.

After August 2021, it was difficult to work here, and it took time to be able to engage with the Taliban and ensure that they listened to me. But now I have created a network of trust with senior members of the de facto authorities, at the provincial as well as the national level; its very important that they understand the importance of women to the economy.

We continue to deliver services across the country, through our NGO partners, and we have exemptions for the health and education sector, where women can continue to work but, of course the ban is a challenge and staff morale is affected.

A child is vaccinated against polio during a polio mobillisation campaign in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan: UN predicts restrictions on women's rights will worsen ... - UN News

The possibility of a dignified life for women and girls has been kicked back to the dark ages in modern Afghanistan. Although the Taliban is not uniformly extreme in all parts of the country there are no signs of things getting materially better. Will international trade with countries like China, Russia and Iran be able to bring Afghanistan back to the 21st century?

The Talibans takeover of Kabul in August 2021 came as a surprise to many, although the group had made significant gains across the country once it was clear that all US troops would leave. Now, Afghanistan is facing one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises. The Afghan economy has been destroyed, and the US has frozen all of Afghanistans assets. Western aid has been suspended because the Taliban government includes designated terrorists, breaches promises to observe human rights, and has ties to other terrorist groups.

The Taliban seem to lack the capacity to manage these monumental challenges, but there is no clear alternative to their rule and government offices are full of corruption.

Last month, a year after the Taliban banned Afghan girls from receiving secondary education and barred women from working in most sectors outside of health and education, another school year began in Afghanistan. It is the only country in the world where girls are prohibited from going to school beyond the primary level and women are barred from traveling more than 70 kilometres without a close male relative.

Since the Talibans takeover, the group has sought to marginalize women and girls and erase them from virtually every aspect of public life. After a March 2022 ban on high school education, the Taliban also barred women from attending university and working in NGOs.

However, in some cities such as Balkh, Herat, and Faryab, girls can still attend school, university, and work.

The Taliban are grouped into three factions: the Kandahari, in the south; the Haqqani, who are said to be supported by Islamic State In Pakistan and are considered the worst and most extreme; and the Dari, who rule in the north of Afghanistan and are more open about men and women working together to improve society.

These three groups have different ideas and priorities, which has caused some infighting, especially regarding womens participation at school and university. About 60% of Taliban militants are illiterate.

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, they announced that they would forgive anyone who had worked with the USA/NATO or the previous governments special army. However, they broke their promises and killed many of them. Some were able to leave Afghanistan, but most could not due to financial difficulties. Western countries promised to help them, but have since forgotten about them, putting their lives in danger. Now there arent any jobs and 75% of people are living in poverty.

Maybe hope for the Afghan people will come from China, whose latest efforts at international diplomacy and mediation has resulted in a long hoped-for rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia. China is also looking at investments such as the potential $50 billion worth of copper in the Mes Aynak mines. Russia and Iran are also candidates for investment which should improve the economic situation.

Otherwise the future looks bleak if the three factions do not find common ground on which to develop the country for the benefit of all Afghans.

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What is currently happening in Afghanistan? - PRESSENZA International News Agency

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has shown no signs of complying with the Wednesday deadline for a congressional subpoena to supply documents relating to President Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan, Republican lawmakers say.

Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, subpoenaed the State Department to supply a dissent cable from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, a document that would have contained any concerns about Biden's withdrawal plans from officials on the ground in Afghanistan. The State Department offered to give McCaul and other lawmakers a briefing on the document but has so far refused to provide the document itself.

"If [Blinken] doesnt comply with the subpoena, then it takes it into litigation," McCaul told Punchbowl News on Tuesday. "Honestly, I think theyre trying to stonewall this until the end of this Congress."

The State Department's refusal to cooperate with the subpoena comes as the House Oversight Committee will begin its own set of hearings on the Afghanistan withdrawal Wednesday.

MCCAUL TARGETS CHINA, AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL AS TOP OVERSIGHT PRIORITIES: I HAVE SUBPOENA POWER

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has refused to comply with a Congressional subpoena for documents relating to President Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

FIRST HOUSE HEARING ON BIDEN ADMIN'S AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL TO DISSECT 'STUNNING FAILURE' OF LEADERSHIP

Blinken stated at a hearing in March that the State Department would never release the dissent cable, arguing that doing so would risk the authenticity of future cables.

"It is vital to me that we preserve the integrity of that process and of that channel, that we not take any steps that could have a chilling effect on the willingness of others to come forward in the future, to express dissenting views on the policies that are being pursued," Blinken testified at the time.

Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, subpoenaed a dissent cable from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul that would have shed light on concerns about Biden's withdrawal plans. (Fox News)

McCaul says he has countered with offers to only view the document in a classified setting, but to no avail.

"Why are they so adamant about not providing these cables even in a classified setting, which I agreed to do?" McCaul asked after filing the subpoena in March. "That raises my suspicion."

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was chaotic and deadly, leaving 13 U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing while protecting the Kabul airport. (AP)

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The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was chaotic and deadly, despite Biden's vows that the operation would be safe and orderly. Thirteen U.S. service members were killed in a suicide bombing while protecting evacuation efforts at the Kabul airport.

Tens of thousands of Afghan allies were stranded in the country when the U.S. military withdrew, and many Americans were left behind as well.

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McCaul says Blinken trying to stonewall Afghanistan subpoena for key withdrawal doc as hearings begin - Fox News

The National Security Council released an assessment of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on Thursday that attempted to explain why the withdrawal unfolded so chaotically. The report mainly places the responsibility on former President Donald Trump. Some of its gripes are justified. Yet overall the document deflects blame from President Joe Biden and obscures bigger, structural problems at the root of American failings. After all, the U.S. was withdrawing from a two-decade war that it had lost and an attempt at nation-building that had gone poorly a legacy of failure that long predated Trump.

The general tone of the paper is defensive rather than evaluative.

Experts say that the NSC document reads more like a set of talking points than a sober, independent-minded assessment of what went wrong. It isnt an objective attempt to identify or summarize lessons learned, tweeted Jonathan Schroden, who directs the Countering Threats and Challenges Program at the Center for Naval Analyses. It is a political document designed to deflect blame in advance of a gathering storm of House GOP hearings. Indeed, the general tone of the paper is defensive rather than evaluative and an attempt to save face for an administration seeking re-election.

The NSC review does make some fair points about how the administration was dealt a difficult hand. Trump left Biden without adequate strategic plans on how to conduct the withdrawal originally scheduled to take place in May 2021, a few months after Biden took office.

And the documents complaints that the terms of Trumps withdrawal deal with the Taliban put the Biden administration in a difficult position are also fair. As Anand Gopal, the author of No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War Through Afghan Eyes, told me in 2021, the fact that the U.S. struck a deal directly with the Taliban and left the fragile Afghan government to sort out a peace process with the Taliban on its own was disastrous. What the U.S. did is kind of buy into its own fiction that the Afghan government was somehow a sovereign actor, Gopal said at the time. In reality, the Afghan government was propped up financially, logistically, militarily and reputationally by outside forces and was primed to be overrun by the Taliban. Moreover, in his zeal to get a deal done quickly, Trump made concessions like the freeing of thousands of Taliban prisoners that mightve been avoidable.

But analysts of the war caution that its unclear whether the U.S. wouldve been able to secure a better agreement with the Taliban or forced the Taliban to come to a meaningful, even if short-lived, peace agreement with the Western-backed Afghan government. The U.S. had lost the war and was withdrawing, leaving the Taliban with no incentive to make major concessions.

I think there are certain things that the Trump administration couldve done that might have made a marginal difference, but at the end of the day wed probably be in the same position because the Taliban had the upper hand, Adam Weinstein, a research fellow at the Quincy Institute who focuses on security, trade and rule of law in Afghanistan and Pakistan, told me.

The Taliban had a cohesive fighting force with strong esprit de corps, willingness to fight, and commanders dedicated to the cause of winning above their personal enrichment, Weinstein said. By contrast, the Afghan security forces lacked the will to fight and were demoralized by a corrupt and disorganized government and officer corps. When the Taliban began to sweep the country ahead of the U.S. withdrawal, many Afghans surrendered en masse.

The Afghan government and security forces fragility was not just a product of Trump, but ofa failed bipartisan effort over the course of decades to build durable state infrastructure and military power in Afghanistan. That project replicated a classic rentier state problem, where money from outside countries flowed to corrupt local elites, instead of toward trusted institutions with mass buy-in from the native population. The entire enterprise of remaking Afghanistan was a failure, and that was a product of the entire U.S. foreign policy apparatus ideological and strategic errors.

Theres no pretty way to end something as ugly as war particularly if youve lost.

The Biden administration also deserves blame for trying to maintain the illusion that this project was working. The NSC review argues that the administration failed to make evacuations of vulnerable Afghan partners such as interpreters more of an urgent priority only because it wanted to avoid signaling a lack of confidence in the ANDSF [Afghan security forces] or the Afghan governments position. But the game of trying to maintain the appearance of the governments legitimacy ultimately led to many Afghan translators being left behind an unconscionable outcome.

There were of course high-profile tragedies in the final days of the withdrawal the Islamic State suicide bombing that killed scores of Afghan civilians and 13 U.S. service members, as well as a retaliatory drone strike that accidentally targeted civilians. But in the scheme of a war that killed thousands upon thousands of Afghan civilians, its hard to look at those horrible events as a problem of withdrawal. Had the U.S. stayed longer, many more innocent people wouldve died for a pointless war. Theres no pretty way to end something as ugly as war particularly if youve lost.

Zeeshan Aleem is a writer and editor for MSNBC Daily.

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Biden shouldn't just blame Trump for the Afghanistan withdrawal mess - MSNBC