Republican Texas Rep. Michael McCaul said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” President Joe Biden is “devoid of reality” after he failed to accept partial responsibility for the Afghanistan withdrawal.
A State Department report concluded that both the Biden and Trump administrations contributed to the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. Investigators said the State Department’s operation “was hindered by the fact that it was unclear who in the Department had the lead.” The report found the Biden administration failed to mobilize and position the necessary personnel to conduct a smooth evacuation, citing in part the lack of experienced senior leadership and coordination.
When asked whether he takes accountability that mistakes were made “during the withdrawal and before,” Biden said “no.”
“All the evidence is coming back,” Biden told a reporter. “Do you remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said al-Qaeda would not be there. I said it wouldn’t be there. I said we’d get help from the Taliban. What’s happening now? What’s going on? Read your press. I was right. Thanks.”
Host Jake Tapper asked McCaul for his reaction to Biden’s comments. (RELATED: Former CIA Officer Rips Biden For Denying ‘Facts On The Ground’ About Admin Failure With Afghanistan Withdrawal)
“It is devoid of reality. Jake, it’s a little bit eerie. The president of the United States would have so — be so disillusioned about what is happening on the ground in Afghanistan. The idea that al-Qaeda is gone — his own secretary of defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff— Milley has said al-Qaeda’s on the rise in Afghanistan. [Biden’s] saying they’re gone, he’s saying the Taliban are helping us. What happened right after he withdrew? … You got Haqqani, the Taliban, harboring Zawahiri of al-Qaeda, Bin Laden’s number two guy in Afghanistan right after the fall and now he’s saying ‘I was right, the Taliban is helping us and al-Qaeda is gone.’ I just don’t really understand it. It’s a bit bizarre to me that a president would be so devoid of his own foreign policy and he just really wants to sweep Afghanistan under the rug,” McCaul said.
“That report was very damaging, found that we should not have abandoned Bagram where we have over $7 billion of taxpayer weapons left behind that now, by the way, the Taliban are selling to our adversaries like Iran and the Palestinians against Israel. This is a huge foreign policy blunder.”