Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida has introduced articles of impeachment towards Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin over the “intentional abandonment of Americans” in Afghanistan.
Mr. Mills on Friday accused the pinnacle of the Department of Defense with dereliction of his responsibility. The accusation stems from Mr. Austin’s dealing with of the Biden administration’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021.
“Despite having nearly 8 months as Secretary of Defense to prepare for and execute as smooth and orderly departure from Afghanistan, Secretary Austin failed to adequately prepare for such a withdrawal, including through his decisions during the catastrophic events of July and August 2021, which initially resulted in as many as 9,000 American citizens being abandoned in Afghanistan,” Mr. Mills wrote within the impeachment decision.
Mr. Mills stated on X, the platform previously often known as Twitter, that Biden administration officers “blatantly ignored intel that Americans and our allied partners in Kabul would be left behind in harm’s way” until the withdrawal was retooled.
GOP lawmakers have lengthy criticized the Biden administration’s chaotic and sudden withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years within the nation, significantly over an absence of accountability for high-level officers, like Mr. Austin, over the fallout of the transfer.
“It’s not enough for Congress to hold committee hearings,” Mr. Mills stated. “We must start taking real action to address the complete failure of this administration.”
Mr. Austin advised lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee earlier this yr that he had “no regrets” over the withdrawal.
The decision comes on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the deaths of 13 service members who have been killed by a suicide bomber at Kabul airport. The lawmaker charged that Mr. Austin’s actions led to their deaths, and the deaths of 200 civilians who have been killed by the identical blast.
“Tomorrow marks two years to the day that we lost 13 of our brave servicemembers,” Mr. Mills stated on X. “The fact that it has been two entire years without any member of this administration being held accountable is unfathomable. That changes today.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican, got here out in help of the articles of impeachment. Ms. Boebert additionally has her personal impeachment decision towards President Biden over his dealing with of the U.S./Mexico border.
“There must be accountability for the embarrassing withdrawal in Afghanistan that killed hundreds of people and thirteen American soldiers,” Ms. Boebert stated on X.
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