WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), announced that she has joined Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) in introducing the Afghanistan War Commission Act of 2021. This legislation would establish a nonpartisan, independent commission to examine every aspect of the war in Afghanistan and produce a public and unclassified report for the American people with lessons learned.
“We owe it to the American people, as well as our heroic servicemembers, veterans, and their families, to gain a full, comprehensive understanding of the lessons learned from a war that spanned four presidential administrations, cost our nation more than $2 trillion, and took thousands of American lives and wounded tens of thousands more,” said Senator Rosen. “This bill would establish an independent commission to examine decision-making over the last 20 years and provide us with an honest analysis of what worked, what went wrong, and how we can avoid repeating past mistakes.”
BACKGROUND: The Afghanistan War Commission Act of 2021 would establish an independent commission to examine all U.S. combat operations, irregular warfare operations, intelligence actions, diplomatic activities, and the interagency decision-making and coordinating processes used during the war in Afghanistan. The commission would study the use of authorities for conducting the war, the effectiveness of Congressional oversight efforts, and the strategic decisions made throughout the course of the war. The commission would also be empowered to investigate actions by all U.S. government agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of State, and the Intelligence Community.
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