CNN:

The after-action review, led by an independent team that began its work last week, will look at much more than the US withdrawal from Afghanistan during the final weeks of August, the Pentagon said in a statement. It will begin with the signing of the Doha agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban in February 2020 and go through the end of the evacuation.

That Doha agreement set the stage for the ensuing removal of US forces in Afghanistan, which began with a reduction in troop levels from 13,000 to 8,600 in June 2020. It called for the complete withdrawal of forces, diplomatic personnel, contractors and others by April 2021, a timeline the Biden administration extended until the end of summer.

Yes, President Biden deliberately botched the withdrawal deadline. We watched it come, we watched it go, and then we watched the Taliban launch their doomsday blitz that they had been planning for two decades.

But as the military began the final stages of the drawdown of US forces, the Taliban were sweeping across the country, taking over districts and provinces with a speed that stunned US officials and allies. The whole of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces — the cornerstone of the strategy to hold the Taliban at bay — collapsed in a matter of days, as senior Afghan officials, including President Ashraf Ghani, fled the country.

Turns out we should have just gotten out of there before the deadline, instead of deliberately botching the deadline for no sane reason whatsoever. There, investigation complete.

CNN:

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called on President Joe Biden to appoint an “evacuation czar” to lead efforts to bring thousands of at-risk Afghans to safety amid reports of targeted assassinations by the Taliban and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan.

In a letter addressed to Biden on Tuesday, Blumenthal said he had “serious concerns about ongoing obstacles to evacuate at-risk Afghans,” urging the administration to expand its efforts “and articulate a clear, effective strategy to expedite the evacuation” of these Afghans and the US citizens remaining in the country.

It sounds like Da Nang Dick is insinuating that the most awesome, complete, and orderly withdrawal in all of military history was somehow insufficient.

See also: Veteran’s Outrage Over Afghanistan Withdrawal Leads To #1 New Book

CNN:

The Taliban executed dozens of members of the Afghan security forces after they surrendered following the militants’ seizure of Afghanistan in late summer, new research released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday alleges.

See also: Afghanistan: Taliban Kill, ‘Disappear’ Ex-Officials

National Review:

Accountability for the botched drone strike by the U.S. military that killed ten civilians in Kabul must lie somewhere. Having personally conducted countless dynamic-targeting situations while running current operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq, I can attest that you do not just strike a car you have been actively tracking for eight hours that is loaded with civilians without people making serious mistakes. Likely these mistakes came at much higher levels than Air Force lieutenant general Sami Said’s review cared to look.

Roll Call:

Almost two months after the U.S. withdrew all of its troops, the State Department is in touch with hundreds of Americans who want to leave Afghanistan, the Pentagon’s top policy official said Tuesday.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of Defense for policy, told lawmakers that 196 Americans are ready to leave Afghanistan now, while another 243 either want to stay or aren’t yet ready to depart.

Republicans on the committee, including ranking member James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, took that as an admission that President Joe Biden had not lived up to his pledge to leave no American citizens behind.

Politico:

The precise number, however, appears to be unclear. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there are “under 200 and likely closer to 100” Americans in Afghanistan in Aug. 30 remarks, but CNN reported just two days ago that close to 200 Americans are still seeking to leave the country.

Khalilzad wrote in his Oct. 18 resignation letter that he decided to step down because “we are entering a new phase in our Afghanistan policy.” He reiterated that reasoning to CBS News.

“I was asked by the former president to negotiate our withdrawal from Afghanistan and get commitments from the Taliban. … That has been achieved. We are out. Our longest war is over,” said Khalilzad, who was tapped in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump to negotiate the withdrawal.

NDTV:

In a statement the Pentagon also said it was working with the State Department to relocate to the United States any of those relatives who wish to leave Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

The offer to pay these people was made Thursday in a meeting between Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, and Steven Kwon, the founder and president of an aid group active in Afghanistan called Nutrition and Education International, the Pentagon said in a statement.

That organization employed Ezmarai Ahmadi, who was wrongly identified as an ISIS terrorist by US intelligence on August 29 during the final days of the chaotic US evacuation from Kabul.

TASS:

Afghan Islamic Press reported on Saturday that at least seven militiamen were killed in the hostilities. Among them were two commanders of the National Resistance Front. The Taliban suffered casualties as well, but they were not specified. There are no more details yet about the incident.

Afghans are still dying for their late republic.

The Wall Street Journal:

The State Department plans to resume regular evacuation flights from Afghanistan before the end of the year to help U.S. citizens, residents and some visa applicants leave the country, a senior State Department official said, an effort that will require coordination with the Taliban and other governments.

See also: Marine Who Criticized Afghanistan Withdrawal Pleads Guilty