Pete Hegseth To Launch Probe Of Biden’s Afghanistan Debacle

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday that the Defense Department was preparing to convene a Special Review Panel to fully and thoroughly investigate the disastrous withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August of 2021.

Hegseth promised early on that the DoD would review every bit of available information and deliver accountability after the previous administration, under President Joe Biden, presided over the chaotic evacuation of civilians and troops through Hamid Karzai International Airport — which resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members and grievous injuries to dozens more. Tuesday’s announcement made good on that promise.

Memo regarding the Review of the U.S. Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/2V7Dt8biOm

— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) May 20, 2025

The Defense Department also posted a press release on Tuesday detailing the plans for the panel and noting that the deeper investigation would be spearheaded by Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs — and Army Ranger veteran — Sean Parnell.

“Three and a half years ago the Biden Administration’s disastrous and embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and 170 civilians in a suicide bombing at the Kabul International Airport’s Abbey Gate. President Trump promised accountability for what transpired during that military withdrawal, and I am committed to delivering on that promise,” the release from Hegseth’s office read.

“We have an obligation to the American people and to the warfighters who fought in Afghanistan to get the truth – and we will. Today, I am directing the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell to convene a Special Review Panel for the Department into the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan,” he continued. “Sean Parnell spent 485 days serving in Afghanistan. Sean was wounded in action along with 85% of his platoon and lost countless friends to the War on Terror. It is fitting that he will lead the effort to reexamine previous Abbey Gate investigations conducted by U.S. Central Command during the Biden Administration.”

Hegseth also noted several others who would be included in the investigative team: “In addition, Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a combat-decorated Marine officer who spoke out about the Afghanistan withdrawal, and Jerry Dunleavy, an author, journalist, and investigator who helped lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s investigation into the Afghanistan withdraw, will serve on the Special Review Panel. Sean and his team will look at the facts, examine the sources, interview witnesses, analyze the decision making, and post-mortem the chain of events that led to one of America’s darkest moments. Sean and his team will provide updates at appropriate times to keep the American people informed of our findings and any directed actions resulting from our review.”

Previous investigations have determined that Biden’s firm insistence on reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan on his timeline had forced the military to accommodate a withdrawal through HKIA in Kabul rather than the more easily-defended Bagram Air Base — and that the chaos of attempting evacuations amid a busy urban environment had resulted in assets and allies being abandoned in addition to setting the stage for the terror attack at Abbey Gate.