Hegseth Orders Probe Into 2021 Afghanistan Withdrawal, Previous Investigations

Several reports and hearings have found successive administrations culpable.

A sign displaying photos and names of the 13 service members killed in a terrorist attack at Abbey Gate outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, is seen during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 9, 2024. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon to investigate August 2021’s “chaotic withdrawal” from Afghanistan.

Hegseth also said he wants to “thoroughly examine previous investigations” into decisions made by the Biden administration before the suicide bombing at Kabul International Airport’s Abbey Gate that killed 13 servicemembers and more than 170 civilians.