Pentagon panel completes key phase of Afghanistan withdrawal review, vows full accounting

The United States Department of Defense said a special review panel examining the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal has completed a major phase of its work, including extensive interviews with senior military and civilian leaders.

In a statement, the department said the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel—chaired by Sean Parnell—has concluded the substantive portion of its interviews as part of what officials describe as one of the most comprehensive after-action military reviews in modern history.

According to the department, the panel was established by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the direction of Donald Trump. Its mandate is to conduct a full-scale examination of the planning and execution of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Officials said the panel interviewed a wide range of key figures involved in the withdrawal, including senior military leaders such as Mark A. Milley, Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., and Austin S. Miller.

In addition to interviews, the panel has reviewed more than nine million documents gathered from multiple U.S. government agencies and prior Defense Department efforts. The department noted this far exceeds the scope of an earlier review conducted under former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which examined roughly 3,000 documents.

“The Secretary Austin-led effort was significantly narrower in scope and over-classified at the highest levels, limiting public access to critical information,” the statement said.

The Defense Department said the ongoing review aims to deliver the most transparent and comprehensive account to date of the events surrounding the withdrawal, including identifying systemic, institutional, and leadership failures that contributed to the collapse of the former Afghan government.

“Our purpose is to ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated,” the statement said, emphasizing accountability to the American public as a central objective.

The department added that the panel is now working to integrate its findings, cross-reference previous reviews, and finalize recommendations. A final report is expected to be presented to the Defense Secretary and released publicly in the coming months.