Hegseth orders Pentagon to launch comprehensive review into 'catastrophic' 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal

"The Department of Defense has an obligation, both to the American people and to the warfighters who sacrificed their youth in Afghanistan, to get to the facts," Hegseth said in a Tuesday memo. "This remains an important step toward regaining faith and trust with the American people and all those who wear the uniform and is prudent based on the number of casualties and equipment lost during the execution of this withdrawal operation." 

Hegseth said the Pentagon has already completed a review into the "catastrophic" withdrawal and concluded that a full investigation is necessary to provide a complete picture of the event and to hold those responsible accountable. 

As a result, Hegseth is directing Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell to spearhead a special review panel to evaluate previous investigations and to "analyze the decision-making that led to one of America's darkest and deadliest international moments." 

"This team will ensure ACCOUNTABILITY to the American people and the warfighters of our great Nation," Hegseth wrote in the memo. 

On Aug. 26, 2021, an ISIS-K suicide bomber who the Taliban released earlier that month detonated his body-worn improvised explosive device at Abbey Gate outside Kabul's airport, according to a U.S. Army Central Command investigation released in 2024. In addition to the 13 U.S. service members who were killed, approximately 170 Afghan civilians also died.

The Biden administration's White House released a report in 2023 evaluating the Afghanistan withdrawal, which stated that top intelligence officials did not accurately assess how quickly the Taliban would retake control of Kabul. 

Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee conducted their own investigation into the withdrawal, and the U.S. military produced at least two reports on the matter. 

The Biden administration "prioritized the optics of the withdrawal over the security of U.S. personnel on the ground," according to the House Foreign Affairs Committee report. 

"For that reason, they failed to plan for all contingencies, including a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) and refused to order a NEO until after the Taliban had already entered Kabul," the report said.

Additionally, the report said the "failure" to adequately establish evacuation plans led to an unsafe environment at the airport and put the lives of service members and State Department officials at risk. 

In February, Trump told reporters that he wouldn't instruct Hegseth on what actions the Pentagon should take when asked if he was considering firing military leaders who oversaw the withdrawal. But Trump said he would "fire every single one of them." 

The commander of U.S. Central Command in 2021, retired Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., in 2024 took full ownership of the loss of U.S. troops that day. 

Now-retired Army Gen. Mark Milley, the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers at the same hearing that he believed the evacuation should have occurred sooner and that multiple factors contributed to failures in the withdrawal. Both McKenzie and Milley told lawmakers they advised Biden to keep some U.S. troops in Afghanistan after pulling out most U.S. forces.

"The outcome in Afghanistan was the result of many decisions from many years of war," Milley told lawmakers. "Like any complex phenomena, there was no single causal factor that determined the outcome."

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.