Quick Hit:

The Pentagon's chief spokesman turned White House spokesman John Kirby, has consistently claimed that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was not chaotic, but newly obtained emails reveal that he was acutely aware of the escalating chaos during the operation. These documents, released through a Freedom of Information Act request, show a stark contrast between the Biden administration's public narrative and the reality on the ground.

Key Details:

• John Kirby, then-Pentagon spokesman, publicly downplayed the chaos during the Afghan withdrawal, despite receiving numerous reports describing the situation as chaotic and violent, particularly at the Kabul airport.

• Internal emails sent to Kirby, obtained by the nonprofit watchdog Functional Government Initiative, use the terms "chaos" or "chaotic" more than two dozen times, directly contradicting Kirby’s public statements.

• The emails suggest efforts by the Biden administration to manage public perception and minimize the disastrous nature of the withdrawal, with Kirby and other officials instructed to portray the situation in a more positive light.

Diving Deeper:

Internal correspondence reveals that despite John Kirby's public insistence that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was not chaotic, the reality conveyed to him through emails and memos was quite different. The documents, obtained by the Functional Government Initiative through a Freedom of Information Act request, show that Kirby was repeatedly informed of the dire situation, particularly at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport, where evacuations were taking place.

One email, sent to Kirby on August 16th, 2021, detailed "breaches" and "flightline insecurity" at the airport, noting that gunfire had erupted, resulting in the deaths of five Afghans and possibly wounding an American soldier. The report also described a chaotic scene where hundreds of people flooded the flight line, with some clinging to aircraft in a desperate attempt to escape, leading to tragic deaths.

In another instance, Kirby received an email from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's speechwriter, who advised that Austin acknowledge the "Afghan chaos" during a public event. Kirby himself flagged the deteriorating security situation at the airport to senior Defense Department advisors, highlighting the disarray as the military tried to manage the evacuation.

These communications stand in stark contrast to Kirby's public statements, where he maintained that the withdrawal was as orderly as could be expected under the circumstances. Even as the situation on the ground worsened, Kirby and other administration officials, including then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki, continued to downplay the chaos, sticking to a narrative that aligned with President Joe Biden's public promises of an orderly exit.

Peter McGinnis, a spokesperson for the Functional Government Initiative, criticized the administration, stating that the American public "didn't need these emails to know the truth about the chaos" as it unfolded on their TV screens. The emails, he argued, exposed a troubling gap between the administration's public pronouncements and the grim reality on the ground.

The fallout from the chaotic withdrawal, including the deadly ISIS-K attack that killed 13 U.S. service members, has been a significant point of contention for the Biden administration. Despite the internal acknowledgment of the chaos, Kirby, who now serves as the National Security Communications Advisor, continues to defend the administration's handling of the withdrawal, maintaining that he "didn't see" the chaos from his position.

Former Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller expressed concern over the deceitful messaging, emphasizing that such actions send a negative message to the military's young leaders. Miller's comments underscore the broader implications of the administration's attempts to control the narrative while managing a crisis of such magnitude.