Diana Shaw, the State Department’s inspector general, announced a series of reviews into the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Shaw notified Congress on Monday. As acting inspector general, her office will start an internal review. The focus will be on the emergency evacuation of the US Embassy in Kabul, the visa program, and the end of US military and diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.
The IG reviews will focus on the State Department’s Special Immigrant Visa program; Afghans processed for refugee admission into the U.S.: the resettlement of those refugees and visa recipients; and the emergency evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s October 15th action memo.
This review “to include evacuation of U.S. citizens and Afghan nationals,” Blinken said.
Shaw’s notification letter stated that “Given the elevated interest in this work by Congress and the unique circumstances requiring coordination across the Inspector General community, I wanted to notify our committees of jurisdiction of this important work.” She sent the letter to leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as to intelligence committees in both chambers.
