WASHINGTON—U.S. Representative Scott Franklin, a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and 26-year Navy veteran, authored two amendments to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that will ensure needed congressional oversight of the Biden Administration’s botched exit from Afghanistan.
Franklin’s first amendment requires a Department of Defense report to Congress to determine what information was shared with the Taliban and provide an assessment of whether the Taliban can use that information provided to target Afghan partners in retaliation for their help to the U.S. The second amendment requires a report to Congress on what military aircraft were left behind after the withdrawal from Afghanistan and how the military plans to either recover or destroy them. America should not be aiding the enemy in our haste to withdraw. Both amendments were passed and included in the final version of the bill that was reported out of the committee.
“I’m grateful my colleagues agreed that we need congressional oversight of the Biden Administration’s disastrous exit from Afghanistan. This hasty withdrawal abandoned our strategic position in Afghanistan, stranded hundreds of American citizens and Afghan allies behind enemy lines, emboldened our adversaries, and cast doubt in the minds of our allies,” said Rep. Franklin. “By sharing information with the Taliban, the Biden Administration effectively gave them a kill list from which they can harm Americans and our allies. By leaving behind untold numbers of U.S. aircraft in Afghanistan, they have jeopardized our national security and failed to be good stewards of American tax dollars. The American people deserve to know how and why these failures occurred.”
BACKGROUND
According to various news reports, the Biden Administration shared the personal identifiable information of American citizens, permanent residents, and our Afghan allies during the withdrawal from Kabul. The Biden Administration claimed this was done to facilitate the evacuation, but in reality, it provided an enemy force with information it can use to kidnap, blackmail, and murder Americans and our allies.
The hasty exit from Afghanistan also left dozens of aircraft in Afghanistan which the Taliban can sell to adversary nations like Iran and China. These aircraft potentially include MD-530 reconnaissance and close attack helicopters, A-29 light attack planes, AC-208 planes, UH-60 Black Hawks, Mi-17 helicopters, and C-130 cargo planes.