Republicans have been on every side of the Afghanistan debate – advocating for an endless war, sending more troops, pulling our troops out, supporting the withdrawal but then opposing it. But one thing has remained consistent – they’ll keep telling lies about President Biden’s withdrawal because they know that the American people overwhelmingly support his decision and wanted to get out of Afghanistan.  

CLAIM: The Biden administration is not vetting Afghan refugees. 

FACT: Republicans are recycling the same xenophoic playbook that cost them the House in 2018. The reality is that refugees go through a thorough multi-step vetting process before reaching the United States.

• Axios: “Afghans fleeing Kabul aren’t supposed to reach America’s shores until they’ve passed a multi-step vetting process — 14 steps, in the case of some interpreters and others who helped the U.S military.”

CLAIM: The United States left $83 billion worth of weapons in the hands of the Taliban.

FACT: Nope, not even an ounce true. $80 billion is the figure for ALL of the money spent on training and sustaining the Afghan military over 20 years.

• Washington Post: “No, the Taliban did not seize $83 billion of U.S. weapons”
• Washington Post: “U.S. military equipment was given to Afghan security forces over two decades. Tanks, vehicles, helicopters and other gear fell into the hands of the Taliban when the U.S.-trained force quickly collapsed. The value of these assets is unclear, but if the Taliban is unable to obtain spare parts, it may not be able to maintain them.”

CLAIM: US forces shared a list of names of Afghan students with the Taliban.

FACT: Again, another blatantly false, and debunked claim.

• Glenn Kessler, Washington Post Fact Checker: “American University of Afghanistan is denying a NYT story that said the university president said the US military shared a list of names and passport info with the Taliban. ‘The Times report is false. AUAF’s president made no such a statement,’ statement says, asking for correx.”