Overnight Defense: No regrets from Biden as Afghanistan withdrawal nears end

Happy Tuesday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I’m Ellen Mitchell, and here’s your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. CLICK HERE to subscribe to the newsletter.

THE TOPLINE: President Biden on Tuesday said he does not regret his decision to pull U.S. forces out of Afghanistan amid reports of rising civilian casualties as the Taliban makes gains in the country.

“We spent over $1 trillion over 20 years. We trained and equipped with modern equipment over 300,000 Afghan forces,” Biden said at a news conference. “And Afghan leaders have to come together. We lost thousands, we lost to death and injury, thousands of American personnel. They’ve got to fight for themselves. Fight for their nation.”

Support from afar: Biden vowed the U.S. would keep its commitments to provide air support, resupply Afghan forces with food and equipment and pay their salaries.

“But they’ve got to want to fight,” Biden added.

“I think they’re beginning to realize they’ve got to come together politically at the top,” the president said. “But we’re going to continue to keep our commitment. But I do not regret my decision.”

Capitals continue to fall: Over the weekend, the Taliban seized a string of provincial capitals, including the strategically and economically important city of Kunduz. The battlefield gains come as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is largely done, with an official end date set by Biden of Aug. 31.

Airstrikes still going, for now: Using so-called over-the-horizon forces, the U.S. military in recent days has conducted some airstrikes in support of Afghan forces, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby confirmed Monday, but he declined to provide any specifics.

Defense officials have not confirmed whether such airstrikes will continue after U.S. troops are fully out by Aug. 31.

Warnings: Lawmakers and critics of Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan have raised concerns over the possibility of a full Taliban takeover of the country and the void that could be left without American forces.

The United Nations reported last month that 783 civilians were killed and 1,609 were injured in May and June alone, the highest number of civilian casualties for those two months since tracking began in 2009. And on Monday, UNICEF reported that 27 children had been killed in the last 72 hours.

Administration officials also briefed senators on the situation behind closed doors Monday and faced what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) described as “tough” questions.

Taliban put on notice: Also on Tuesday, U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad warned the Taliban that any government that assumes power through use of force in Afghanistan will not be acknowledged by the international community.

Khalilzad traveled to Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, where the Taliban has a political office, to “help formulate a joint international response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan,” according to the State Department.

He will urge the Taliban to stop their military offensive and arrange a political settlement, which the State Department said “is the only path to stability and development in Afghanistan.”

The hope: Khalizad, who negotiated the peace deal brokered with the Taliban under the Trump administration, and other officials reportedly hope that the stern warning will encourage Taliban leaders to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government as U.S. and NATO forces inch closer to completing their military withdrawal from the country.

WATCHDOG: DHS SHOULD HAVE CONSIDERED JAN. 6 A SPECIAL SECURITY EVENT

The first of three reports from a government watchdog on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) response to Jan. 6 found the agency failed to consider designating lawmakers’ certification of the 2020 election as a special security event — a move that would have funneled additional resources to the Capitol that day.

The specific findings: The report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found DHS didn’t assign a National Special Security Event (NSSE) or a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) to the Jan. 6 certification, something DHS said would be an unusual approach to standard congressional business.

“A designation would likely have assured additional security to help respond to the January 6 attack on the Capitol,” GAO concluded in its report. 

“This non-permitted incident was not designated, even though there were other indications, such as social media posts, that additional security may have been needed at the Capitol Complex on January 6,” the report stated.

What they’re usually used for: The two designations can cover events ranging from the inauguration to the Super Bowl, with SEARs generally used to cover events with less of a political nexus. 

GAO found the Jan. 6 certification could have qualified for either “because, for example, they were large events with presidential or vice presidential attendance.”

Why they looked into it: The GAO report follows a request from Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) to investigate action taken by DHS and other law enforcement agencies in the days leading up to Jan. 6.

What’s next?: Coming reports will evaluate how law enforcement and intelligence agencies acted on information available through social media and the role of intelligence sharing between state, local and federal partners.

ICYMI

— The Hill: Taliban control 65 percent of Afghanistan: EU official

— The Hill: North Korea rips South’s drills with US

— The Hill: Senate includes over $1.9 billion for cybersecurity in infrastructure bill

— The Hill: Opinion: We need a memorial to honor the dead in America’s longest war

— The Hill: Opinion: Biden needs a Middle East strategy to avoid new crises

— The Associated Press: Contractors who powered US war in Afghanistan stuck in Dubai

— The New York Times: On Afghanistan’s front line, there are no good choices

— Defense News: Mara Karlin confirmed to lead Pentagon strategy