A Republican member of the US Congress, Cory Mills, has introduced a motion to impeach the country’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, over the chaotic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the deadly attack on the Kabul airport in August 2021.
In a post on X on Friday, Mills accused Austin of “dereliction of duty” in the wake of the attack, which killed 13 American service members and nearly 200 citizens of Afghanistan.
Two years ago on Saturday, August 26, a deadly suicide bombing at Abbey Gate outside the Kabul airport killed and injured dozens of citizens of Afghanistan and American service members. The bombing took place as US and NATO forces were evacuating people from Afghanistan.
“High-level officials in this administration blatantly ignored intelligence that Americans and our allied partners in Kabul would be left behind in harm’s way unless the U.S. corrected course in our withdrawal,” Mills said. “As a result, nearly 200 people, including 13 American service members, were murdered at Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan two years ago.”
Mills stated that it is “not enough for Congress to hold committee hearings.”
“We must start taking real action to address the complete failure of this administration,” Mills said. “The fact that it has been two entire years without any member of this administration being held accountable is unfathomable. That changes today,” he added.
Another Republican lawmaker, Lauren Boebert, has also joined Mills in calling for Austin’s impeachment.
“There must be accountability for the embarrassing withdrawal in Afghanistan that killed hundreds of people and thirteen American soldiers,” Boebert has stated in a post on X.
It is unclear whether other members of Congress will support the impeachment motion.
