The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on the debacle yesterday. Retired Army General Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and former Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, ex-leader of US Central Command, appeared before the committee as witnesses. They agreed that the debacle was in fact a failure, but disclaimed responsibility for it (video below, New York Post story here).

Milley thought the buck stopped with President Biden, who rejected his advice. McKenzie said he assumed “full military responsibility for what happened at Abbey Gate.” Biden himself has declared our exit “an extraordinary success.” In the words of the poem, ’twas a famous victory.

A State Department official, asked about Tuesday’s hearing, told the Washington Post that the department is “immensely proud of the work done, under incredibly difficult circumstances, to ensure the relocation of U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and Afghans throughout the withdrawal and the period that followed.” Congratulations are apparently in order.