In less than 24 hours, a House panel is set to hear damning testimony regarding the chaotic aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. After two years and five months since U.S. servicemembers left the country, the Taliban seized control of Kabul, leading to revenge attacks on those who had supported the U.S. efforts over the past two decades.
Testifying before Congress in April of last year, Diana Shaw, the acting inspector general of the State Department, highlighted the consequences of the hasty withdrawal. These consequences include a nearly doubled number of Afghans in need of humanitarian assistance since the Taliban took power, as well as the severe curtailment of the rights of women and girls. Additionally, the Afghan special immigrant visa (SIV) program still has over 152,000 SIV applicants in Afghanistan. While some progress has been made, with approximately 10,800 applicants receiving chief of mission approval for a U.S. visa, there are still around 67,000 applicants being reviewed. Moreover, tens of thousands more have initiated the application process.
