Let’s get this straight: an investigation lead by the Biden administration on the Biden administration’s own actions leading up to the botched Afghanistan evacuation mission this summer?
Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a conflict of interest at all!
It was reported on Monday that the State Department’s inspector general will investigate the Biden administration’s diplomatic operations in Afghanistan, including the mass resettlement of Afghans after Taliban took over and wreaked havoc in the country.
The investigation, led by the State Department, will reportedly examine a wide array of issued. The State Department’s Special Immigrant Visa program will be target number one, but the processing of Afghans who applied for refugee admission into the U.S, and the resettlement of those refugees and visa recipients, will be under investigation as well.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken distributed a memo State Dept. officials this week announcing the investigation.
It will also evaluate the emergency evacuation of U.S citizens and Afghan nationals from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took over the capital. The results of this evacuation are well known: the untimely and tragic deaths of 13 U.S. servicemen and hundreds of innocent Afghans.
But, again, this is Biden’s administration investigating itself. What questions could really be answered?
Unless, that is, Biden has already targeted a fall man.
“Given the elevated interest in this work by Congress and the unique circumstances requiring coordination across the Inspector General community, I wanted to notify our committees of jurisdiction of this important work,” the State Department said to Congress.
Mark Huffman, a spokesperson for the State Office of the Inspector General, confirmed it had notified the committees of its plans.
“This work will be conducted in coordination with other members of the IG community,” he said.
The inspector general offices of other departments, such as the Defense Department and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, will likely launch their own investigations, reports confirm. The Pentagon has already announced three reviews related to the evacuation.
The State Department is set to resume evacuations for the remaining Americans in Afghanistan, as well as some Afghans, such as SIV applicants, by the end of the year. The effort will require coordination with the Taliban.
Until then, Americans will be left stranded without any assistance from the Biden administration.
Author: Sebastian Hayworth