{"id":104459,"date":"2021-11-18T00:34:09","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T00:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:31:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:31:27","slug":"lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers blamed the eventual collapse of the U.S.-supported Afghan government on current and past administrations and pushed for quick action to help Americans and Afghans still there during a Wednesday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreign.senate.gov\/hearings\/afghanistan-2001-2021-us-policy-lessons-learned-111721\" target=\"_blank\">Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing<\/a> aimed at learning from U.S. policy shortcomings in the Afghanistan war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe tragic events of this past summer were the culmination of poor decision-making by both Republican and Democratic administrations going back to 2001,\u201d said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who chairs the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Taliban <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2021\/08\/24\/taliban-takeover-prompts-fears-of-a-resurgent-al-qaida\/\" target=\"_blank\">swept across Afghanistan<\/a>, taking over cities as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/newsletters\/breaking-news-alert\/2021\/08\/30\/its-official-the-us-has-no-boots-on-the-ground-in-afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\">American troops withdrew<\/a>. The end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan was marked by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/08\/26\/explosion-outside-kabul-airport-casualties-unknown\/\">a deadly day<\/a>, with 13 service members killed and 18 others wounded in a series of attacks outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/08\/28\/here-are-the-names-of-the-13-service-members-who-died-in-afghanistan-attack\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6800017.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Here are the names of the 13 U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan attack<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Thirteen U.S. service members died Thursday in Kabul, Afghanistan, supporting Operation Freedom\u2019s Sentinel.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. involvement in Afghanistan suffered from \u201ca lack of strategic coherence,\u201d said Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the committee. He underscored how the evolution of \u201ca light American footprint\u201d into a full-blown counterinsurgency and nation-building effort contributed to the eventual collapse of the U.S.-supported Afghanistan government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe must better define our strategic objectives, assign resources accordingly, and resist the temptations to do more than is necessary,\u201d Risch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, others blamed more recent decisions for the Taliban victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ryan Crocker of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who served as a U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and other countries in the region, said excluding the Afghan government in U.S. talks with the Taliban \u201cwas a horrific mistake,\u201d only furthered by President Joe Biden\u2019s decision to keep a Trump-appointed Afghanistan envoy on the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between the economic collapse, suspension of aid and the impact of sanctions, Afghanistan is on its way to become the world\u2019s greatest humanitarian crisis, said Laurel Miller of the International Crisis Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miller said that it\u2019s impossible for the United States to say it stands with the Afghan people while continuing to fully isolate the regime governing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Taliban cannot be made to be less Taliban, but there are many Afghans who can be saved,\u201d she said, adding some degree of engagement with the Taliban is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senators were also concerned about how U.S. funding fueled corruption in Afghanistan. Sen. Ben Cardin D-Md., called for \u201ca strategy to make sure that our engagement does not reinforce the greed of corrupt leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A key lesson learned is that aid conditionality is ineffective if it depends on how successful the recipient is, Miller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause the United States had a policy that required the success of the Afghan government, it could not deprive the government of resources considered essential to ensure that success,\u201d she said in her opening remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/09\/28\/afghanistan-probably-never-stood-a-chance-reports-show\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Afghanistan.Biden_.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Afghanistan probably never stood a chance, reports show<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The unraveling of Afghanistan, according to reports, was always just a breath away.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking forward, lawmakers discussed the ongoing need for Congress\u2019 active hand in the resettlement plans and processes for Afghan families who evacuated when the Taliban took over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe last chapter is a chapter we have to write for 70,000 Afghans, about 45 percent of whom are children that we have brought to the United States, who have been given a new opportunity for life in a land of better opportunity,\u201d said Sen. Tim Kaine D-Va.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Risch introduced the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreign.senate.gov\/press\/ranking\/release\/risch-leads-colleagues-in-introducing-comprehensive-afghanistan-legislation\" target=\"_blank\">Afghanistan Counterterrorism, Oversight, and Accountability Act<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislation calls for establishing a State Department task force dedicated to evacuating American citizens and Afghans with special immigrant visas who are stuck in the country, sanctioning the Taliban and foreign governments supporting them and sidestepping Taliban recognition in ambassador positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile we have held one initial meeting with the majority staff on this matter, I\u2019d like to see this matter move more quickly,\u201d Risch said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was the latest in a series of hearings into policy decisions regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":47115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":132,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[132,10,29,117,15,35,86],"tags":[],"coauthors":[6631],"class_list":["post-104459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afghanistan","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"V5X7A54LIZFCTFI37RAUV5K4ZE","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/17\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was the latest in a series of hearings into policy decisions regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was the latest in a series of hearings into policy decisions regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-18T00:34:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T11:31:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zinya Salfiti, Medill News Service\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zinya Salfiti, Medill News Service\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-11-18T00:34:09+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T11:31:27+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 610,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AfghanISISAttack1.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Afghanistan\",\n\t                \"Flashpoints\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan - Military Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AfghanISISAttack1.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-11-18T00:34:09+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T11:31:27+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was the latest in a series of hearings into policy decisions regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AfghanISISAttack1.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AfghanISISAttack1.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/18\\\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Flashpoints\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"flashpoints\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Afghanistan\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/afghanistan\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"afghanistan\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Military Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News About Your Military | Military Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Military Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/military-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/military-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Military Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan - Military Times","description":"The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was the latest in a series of hearings into policy decisions regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan","og_description":"The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was the latest in a series of hearings into policy decisions regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/","og_site_name":"Military Times","article_published_time":"2021-11-18T00:34:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T11:31:27+00:00","author":"Zinya Salfiti, Medill News Service","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Zinya Salfiti, Medill News Service","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan","datePublished":"2021-11-18T00:34:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T11:31:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/"},"wordCount":610,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AfghanISISAttack1.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Afghanistan","Flashpoints","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters","Pentagon &amp; Congress"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/","name":"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan - Military Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AfghanISISAttack1.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2021-11-18T00:34:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T11:31:27+00:00","description":"The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations was the latest in a series of hearings into policy decisions regarding the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AfghanISISAttack1.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AfghanISISAttack1.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/11\/18\/lawmakers-seek-out-lessons-from-us-involvement-in-afghanistan\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Flashpoints","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/","ad_zone":"flashpoints"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Afghanistan","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/","ad_zone":"afghanistan"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Lawmakers seek out lessons from US involvement in Afghanistan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","name":"Military Times","description":"Independent News About Your Military | Military Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization","name":"Military Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/military-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/military-logo-white.png","caption":"Military Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Military Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AfghanISISAttack1.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104463,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104459\/revisions\/104463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104459"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=104459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}