The Lead with Jake Tapper: Rep. Michael McCaul, (R-TX), Is Interviewed About Afghanistan Withdrawal
Interview
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Well, the rules of engagement go all the way up to the National Security Council. It appeared from the testimony there were no rules of engagement on the ground at HKIA surrounded by the Taliban.
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Yes, the airport in Kabul. And I think most importantly, you know, Tyler saw the suicide bomber in his sights. He got his team together. He got the PSYOPs intelligence team. They identified him as the suicide bomber through an intelligence bulletin and then ran it up to his commanding officer, who then replied, you don't have permission to engage because I don't have that authority.
Well, and then they said, well, who has that authority? He couldn't answer that question.
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So I want to go as far I don't know how high this goes, but the idea he's not giving permission to engage, and then hours later, the bomb goes off. You have 13 servicemen and women killed, including, we saw the mother of, you know, Nicole Gee, 140 Afghans and 50 injured, including Tyler, who obviously doesn't have a leg, arm has -- had almost 50 surgeries, somebody's got to be held accountable.
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Well, I do think there are a lot of bad decisions made throughout the 20 years, but the one decision that this president made was to evacuate. And the problem is he didn't really have a plan of evacuation. So, when I got briefed by the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, it was a very grim picture. And then when I talked to the State Department, a complete lack of preparation. That's precisely why I want this dissenting cable that came from the embassy in Kabul.
Twenty-three State Department employees registering dissent with a policy of the administration is very extraordinary event. This is the one document, as it was reported, that they are not willing to turn over. I think the American people deserve to know what was in that. I think the veterans deserve to know what was in that and the Gold Star Mothers. And if it is not provided by close of business Monday, I will serve that subpoena.
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Yes.
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