State department inspector general to investigate Biden exit from Afghanistan

The state department inspector general informed the Congress on Monday that the office is launching a series of investigations into the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

Diana Shaw, the department's acting inspector general, notified the heads of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, as well as the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, that her office will open several oversight projects related to ending diplomat operations in Afghanistan.

Politico was first to report that the State Department was investigating the winding down of operations.

The probes will focus on the State Department s Special Immigrant Visa program; Afghans processed for refugee admission into U.S. resettlement of Afghan refugees and visa recipients; and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to include evacuation of Afghan nationals and U.S. citizens. Given the unique interest in this work by Congress and the elevated circumstances requiring coordination across the Inspector General community, I wanted to notify our committees of jurisdiction of this important work, Shaw said in the letter.

After Afghan forces quickly surrendered to Taliban in August, crowds flocked to Kabul airport in an attempt to escape the country. Chaotic images and videos surfaced of desperate Afghans clinging to military planes as the administration scrambled to evacuate American citizens, Afghanistan allies and U.S. visa holders.

Thirteen U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans were wounded and scores more killed in a suicide attack outside Kabul's airport during the evacuation.

Biden has forcefully defended his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan despite critics on both sides questioning how the administration handled closing the final chapter of the nation's longest war.

I was not going to continue this forever war, and I was not going to extend a forever exit, said Biden in September at the White House on television, adding that chaos was inevitable.

The administration has signaled that it intends to resettle 65,000 Afghans in the U.S. this year and 95,000 by the next year.