The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on the epically botched withdrawal, after twenty years, from war in Afghanistan. The official title of the hearing was “During and After the Fall of Kabul: Examining the Administration’s Emergency Evacuation from Afghanistan”. The narrow subject area should have limited the partisan attacks, but no. Of note, General Milley, General Austin and General Donohue were not on the witness list or present in the hearing room. The moral injury done to American troops, American families, and the American reputation cannot be quantified.

Lt. Col. Scott Mann of Operation Pineapple Express was on today’s panel and has used the phrase “moral injury” to describe the damage done by the clusterfeck of a withdrawal at Harmid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) after we abandoned Bagram Airport. The Lt. Col. is retired but sprang into action to help evacuate those at risk through Operation Pineapple Express. Peter Lucier of Team America Relief gave a way forward opening statement that should be must reading for everyone who even comes near a military operation.