Author and investigator Jerry Dunleavy announced on Monday that he has resigned “in protest” from the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s investigation of the botched military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Dunleavy had been tasked with helping to lead the probe into the fiasco as questions still remain about President Joe Biden’s handling of the matter.
In a post on X, the author announced his departure with a copy of his resignation letter. “Despite my repeated urging, [Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael] McCaul failed to seek answers on & accountability for the debacle.”
While the Committee’s investigation has indeed unearthed further evidence detailing the Biden-Harris Admin’s responsibility for the horrific events of August 2021 & for the dangerous global fallout which followed, McCaul & his team have also been derelict in their duty to pursue answers for the Abbey Gate Gold Star families, to seek the proper documents, to bring in the proper witnesses, to ask the tough questions, to fully pursue the truth without fear or favor, & to do everything in the Committee’s power to ensure that a deadly humiliation like this never happens again. McCaul & the Committee made promises to the Abbey Gate Gold Star families & to the American public at large — & those promises simply have not been kept.
I did not come lightly to this decision to resign & to blow the whistle publicly, but I could not be a part of this sham any longer & my conscience simply will not allow me to be silent — after a year of pushing the Committee to do the right thing & to run a serious investigation that relentlessly searches for the truth, it has become undeniably clear to me that McCaul & his team are unwilling to take even the most basic steps necessary to ensure that President Biden, VP Harris, & all the top Biden-Harris diplomatic & national security & military leaders are made to answer for the horrors which unfolded & continue to unfold in Afghanistan & around the world. The Committee’s disappointing lack of courage & lack of moral clarity just cannot go unremarked.
Dunleavy said he feels “a significant obligation to the Abbey Gate Gold Star families, to all Gold Star families from this two-decade war, to all the U.S. service members who fought & especially those who died in Afghanistan, & to the American public” because “they all deserve to know how this Committee has refused to fulfill its important obligation to thoroughly expose the Biden-Harris Admin’s duplicity & its atrocious decision-making during America’s retreat & defeat in Afghanistan.”
NEW: I resigned in protest from Chairman McCaul’s House Foreign Affairs investigation into the Biden-Harris Admin’s disastrous & deadly Afghanistan withdrawal. Resignation letter below. Despite my repeated urging, McCaul failed to seek answers on & accountability for the debacle.… pic.twitter.com/lTBrKCXJkx
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) August 12, 2024
In his resignation letter, Dunleavy criticized how the committee conducted its investigation into the Afghanistan withdrawal and the series of failures involved in the disaster. He describes the situation as “a diplomatic failure, an intelligence failure, a military failure, a strategic failure, a policy failure, a planning failure, a political failure, a truth-telling failure, and a moral failure” and stresses that each of these aspects needed thorough investigation.
The investigator explained that his efforts to look into key aspects of the withdrawal were “repeatedly stymied by our chief investigator and by senior staff,” which resulted in what he calls “investigative paralysis.”
Much of Dunleavy’s frustration stems from a reluctance to hold high-ranking officials accountable for their missteps – especially Vice President Kamala Harris, who he describes as a key decision-maker in the withdrawal. He believes she should face accountability given that she is now the Democratic nominee for president and expressed disappointment that the committee had taken “zero steps to do so” and said he faced “pushback from my superiors related to taking action on this.”
Dunleavy’s letter discusses the committee’s mishandling of key witnesses, including military figures and former officials involved in the operation. He points to the lenient treatment of Zalmay Khalilzad, the former Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation, who did not face serious enough questions about his role in the failed negotiations with the Taliban.
The former investigator claims the committee let Khalilzad “skate” on serious questions and attempted to downplay his role in the flawed negotiations. There were indications that members of the committee did not take this matter seriously.
“Just after Khalilzad finished testifying, our chief investigator went up to him on the floor of the hearing room and asked for (and received) a smiling selfie with him in full view of the press and the public — with veterans of the war in Afghanistan and Gold Star families all in the hearing room audience,” Dunleavy wrote.
In his closing remarks, Dunleavy expressed concerns that the failures of the Afghanistan withdrawal have not been adequately addressed and fears these oversights will have serious consequences for future U.S. foreign policy.
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About Biden’s Afghanistan Failures
Chairman McCaul’s office defended the investigation, highlighting transcribed interviews with approximately 20 senior administration officials and hearings with key figures, including Gen. Mark Milley and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr.
Emily Cassil, spokesperson for Chairman McCaul, said the lawmaker is serious about the investigation.
“Having worked for Chairman McCaul for two years, I can tell you he pours his heart and soul into getting answers for our Gold Star families and Afghanistan veterans. That will be evident in a few weeks when he releases his expansive report, which is the result of thousands of hours of work on both the staff and member level. Its release will not be the end of our work, but a crucial next step toward ensuring the personal accountability that the Biden-Harris administration refused to provide.”
Despite jurisdictional limitations and a lack of cooperation from the Biden administration, the committee has obtained critical witnesses and documents shedding more light on the withdrawal, according to Cassil, who also suggested that individuals unfamiliar with the inner functions and constitutional concerns involved in these matters can become frustrated with the process.
