WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s Central Command has ordered interviews with approximately two dozen additional service members who were present at the Kabul airport during the suicide bombings that occurred during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. This move comes as criticism continues regarding whether the deadly attack could have been prevented.

General Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, has ordered these interviews, partly in response to statements made by at least one injured service member who claimed they were never interviewed about the incident and suggested they might have been able to intervene to stop the attackers.

These interviews aim to determine if service members who were not part of the initial investigation possess new or different information.

It’s important to note that this decision does not reopen the investigation into the deadly bombing and the withdrawal that occurred two years ago, according to officials.

Nevertheless, these additional interviews are likely to be used by congressional critics, primarily from the Republican party, as evidence that the administration mishandled the investigation into the attack and the overall withdrawal process.

Some families of the victims and the injured have expressed concerns that the Pentagon has not been transparent enough about the bombing, which resulted in the deaths of 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. servicemen and women.

The investigation by U.S. Central Command concluded in November 2021, stated that due to the deteriorating security situation at the Abbey Gate of the airport and the increasing desperation of Afghans trying to evacuate, “the attack was not preventable at the tactical level without jeopardizing the mission to maximize evacuations.”

The Pentagon has also stated that the review of the suicide attack did not uncover any advance identification of a potential attacker or any requests for a change in the rules of engagement governing the use of force by U.S. troops.

Central Command plans to interview several service members who sustained severe injuries in the Abbey Gate bombing and had to be quickly evacuated from Afghanistan for medical treatment. These interviews will constitute the majority of the planned interviews, but a few others who were not wounded are also included. Officials have not ruled out the possibility of conducting more interviews based on the initial conversations.

“The purpose of these interviews is to ensure we thoroughly investigate the new information that has come to light, give full voice to the relevant individuals, and seriously and comprehensively examine their accounts, so that the facts are fully revealed,” said Michael Lawhorn, a spokesperson for Central Command, in a statement.

Officials have begun notifying the families of the victims of the bombing and members of Congress about this latest plan. General Kurilla has requested an update in 90 days.

During a congressional hearing in March, former Marine Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews emotionally testified that he had tried to prevent the suicide bombing but was thwarted. He claimed that Marines and others involved in the evacuation operation received descriptions of men believed to be planning an attack before it happened. Vargas-Andrews and others reportedly observed two men matching the descriptions acting suspiciously and even had them in their rifle scopes but never received instructions on whether to take action.

“No one was held accountable,” Vargas-Andrews told Representative Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “No one was, and no one is, to this day.”

The March hearing aimed to scrutinize the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal. The Taliban captured Kabul, the Afghan capital, much faster than U.S. intelligence had anticipated as American forces withdrew. The fall of Kabul led to a frantic evacuation by U.S. troops, with the airport becoming the focal point of the desperate airlift.

In April, President Joe Biden’s administration placed blame on his predecessor, President Donald Trump, for the tumultuous withdrawal. A 12-page summary of the “hotwash” results regarding U.S. policies surrounding the end of the nation’s longest war asserts that Biden was “severely constrained” by decisions made by Trump.

The summary acknowledges that the evacuation of Americans and allies from Afghanistan should have started earlier but attributes the delays to factors such as the Afghan government, the military, U.S. military assessments, and intelligence community assessments.

The administration has refused to release detailed reviews conducted by the State Department and the Pentagon, citing their high classification levels.

A review by the U.S. Inspector-General for Afghanistan, John Sopko, concluded that actions taken by both the Trump and Biden administrations were instrumental in the sudden collapse of the Afghan government and military before the completion of the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021. This includes Trump’s one-sided withdrawal agreement with the Taliban and the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. contractors and troops from Afghanistan by Biden, which left an Afghan air force that previous administrations had failed to make self-sufficient stranded, according to the review.

Source: with agencies