5 years after Kabul, Pentagon says it found files someone didn't want discovered

WASHINGTON, DC: The Pentagon says it has uncovered classified documents related to the final days of the US war in Afghanistan that officials claim were deliberately “stashed” in safes where they would not be found, potentially adding new material to the long-running examination of the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Kabul.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, who chairs the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel, made the claim on Wednesday, August 26, but did not disclose what the documents contain or identify who allegedly concealed them.

The announcement comes five years after the final US withdrawal, during which 13 American service members were killed in a s*****e bombing at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The newly formed review panel is examining decisions surrounding the withdrawal and has promised to provide a fuller account to troops and families affected by its final days.

Pentagon makes extraordinary claim about files

Parnell said the review team had recovered “highly relevant classified documents” that should have been disclosed during earlier examinations of the withdrawal.

“The deeper we look, the more there is to look at,” he said in a video message announcing the discovery. 

According to Parnell, the material was “stashed and hidden away in safes where they would not be found.” He said that after reviewing the documents, investigators understood why someone had allegedly tried to keep them from being discovered.

However, Pentagon officials have not publicly released the documents or provided evidence identifying the person or people responsible for allegedly hiding them.

Parnell also did not give a timeline for when the public might learn more about the findings, saying only that those who served in Afghanistan deserved “the full picture” of how the decisions surrounding the withdrawal were made.

Kabul's final days remain contested

The collapse of the Afghan government and the evacuation from Kabul remain among the most politically contentious episodes of former President Joe Biden's administration.

Republican lawmakers have repeatedly accused the Biden administration of mishandling the withdrawal and failing to adequately prepare for the dangers facing American troops and Afghan civilians at the airport.

Democrats and Biden's supporters have argued that the decision ended a two-decade military conflict that had already cost thousands of American and Afghan lives.

The debate has continued to center on the August 26, 2021, bombing at Abbey Gate, which killed 13 US service members and scores of Afghans during the evacuation.

Military officials have disputed some Republican allegations that intelligence warnings before the attack were ignored.

The latest Pentagon review is expected to revisit decisions made during the final phase of the war, as well as the events surrounding the evacuation.

Troops could receive upgraded honors

Parnell's announcement came ahead of a Pentagon ceremony involving service members who served at Kabul's airport during the evacuation.

Earlier this year, he said the Defense Department would review valor awards given to troops who served during the operation, arguing that their recognition should more accurately reflect the risks they faced.

The Pentagon has said the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel is examining both the decisions that led to the withdrawal and the experiences of those deployed during its final days.

The new claims about classified material could become part of that broader review, although officials have not said whether the documents directly concern the Abbey Gate attack or other aspects of the evacuation.