Independent commission to investigate all aspects of war in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the world watched heartbreaking images of the chaos in Afghanistan following the U.S. troop withdrawal over the summer, many service members said they were left questioning the value of their service.

Now a law signed by President Joe Biden this week will create an independent commission to investigate the nearly 20-year war from start to finish.

It was a conflict that was occasionally marked with uncertainty and confusion.

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“I don’t think there was ever a truly agreed-upon understanding as to why we were in the country and what our aims and goals were going to be,” said Jeremy Butler, Chief Executive Officer of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).

IAVA has been pushing for an independent panel to investigate the war in Afghanistan and this week, that goal became a reality.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes bipartisan legislation to form the 16-member panel.

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Over four years, the commission will examine all aspects of the war, including combat and intelligence operations and congressional oversight.

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“Really look at the entirety of the last 20 years, understand where decisions were maybe made incorrectly, maybe decisions were made without proper insight,” said Butler.

Veterans groups said the tumultuous final weeks that troops served in Afghanistan left many vets uncertain of the value of their sacrifice.

“Was it worth it? Why were they there?” said Butler.

Butler says the nonpartisan investigation will play a major role in giving Afghanistan war veterans those very answers.

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“I think even if there are no satisfactory answers to each one of those questions, the mere fact that the government is going to spend four years studying this problem, studying these questions and coming forth with hopefully a detailed report as to what went wrong, what went right and how we can keep this from happening again in the future, I think that’s going to go a long way to reassuring those service members that they fought honorably, that there was a reason for them to be over there and what they did was not a sacrifice in vain,” said Butler.

The members of the commission will have experience in national security.

The commission will not include any service member or military official who served during the war in Afghanistan or any current members of Congress or members who were in office during the war.

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