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The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), currently stalled in the Senate,callsforan independentbipartisancongressionalcommission toconduct acomprehensiveexaminationofAmericas involvement in Afghanistan from 1996 to our withdrawal this summer.

That provision,introducedby Sen.Tammy DuckworthLadda (Tammy) Tammy DuckworthOvernight Defense & National Security Austin mandates vaccine for Guardsmen Biden signs four bills aimed at helping veterans Wisconsin senators ask outsiders not to exploit parade attack 'for their own political purposes' MORE (D-Ill.),Rep. Liz CheneyElizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneyKevin McCarthy is hostage to the GOP's 'exotic wing' Jan. 6 panel faces new test as first witness pleads the Fifth Prosecutors say North Carolina woman deserves prison for bringing 14-year-old to Capitol riot MORE (R-Wyo.)and others,isa good one.No doubt we can glean valuable lessons by lookingat the totality of ourAfghanistan experience, includingourdiplomatic,militaryand intelligence activities inthat countryfrom the early 1990s to today.

Butthatsort ofthoughtful,exhaustive undertakingwould certainlytake months, probablyyears, to collect, analyzeandreport on.And we need some answers sooner than that. Specifically, we need to answer questions about our deeply troubling pullout in August.

Congressional commissions dont spring up overnight. TheRepublican and Democratic Party leadership andthechairs of thearmed services, intelligenceand foreign affairs/relationscommitteeswill need tofind andpick12 to 16qualifiedcommissioners,arrange fora suitablestaffdirectoror directors,find office spaceandstaffupwithcompetentresearchers. That alonewill takemonths and only then can the real work start.

Even asthiscommissiongetssituated andprepares to goabout itsimportanthistorical review,there is an urgentneed for another,shorter studyfocused solelyon what happenedin Afghanistanthis year.

Such anindependent,unclassifiedstudy (forbothpublic and private consumption) could be donein six monthsandwouldactuallyhave somethingusefulto say.

Despite the herculean work and heroism of our service members and other U.S. government professionals on the ground and in the air in Afghanistan and beyond, few would argue that the August withdrawal was an unqualifiedsuccess. Most would call it chaotic, at best,if not downright disastrous.

There are many questions that need to be answeredsoon. Among the most important:

How did theinteragencyprocess to quit Afghanistan unfold within theBidenadministration?Were there flaws in this process that could be improved uponto inform future contingencies?

Why did we decide to withdraw all U.S. forces, leavingus and our allies blind to potential counterterror threats?Were other options discussed in the interagencyand, if so,why werent they chosen?

Whatwas the intelligence communitysassessment of the situation andthe potentialfallout from the precipitouswithdrawal?

Why did we surrender Bagram Airfield, leaving U.S. forcesto rely on Hamid Karzai International Airportas the sole point of departure?Whatwas learnedfromthehastyevacuation?

And so on.

Both a long-term study ofU.S. involvement in Afghanistanfrom 1996 to 2021and a short-term study of our 2021 withdrawalhave merit. Theyshould be undertakenas soon as practicablewith the goal of improving our performance in future diplomatic and military contingencies.

Theseafter-actionstudiesarecriticaltouncovering anddiscerning the important, sometimes bitterlessons from Americas now-longest warfor not only reflectionbut implementationas needed across the challenging foreign policy landscape we face today.

The results will be vital to informingcurrent and future policymakers in Congress and the executivebranch so that better outcomes in the future are within grasp.

Equally important,the American people,who shouldered so much of the burden of this conflict,deserve answersto these questionsabout Afghanistan. Itstime for bipartisancongressionalaction torequire botha short-termand a long-termstudyof Americas involvement in Afghanistan.

PeterBrookesis a Heritage Foundation senior fellow,a former deputy assistant secretary of defense and aformercongressional commission member.

Link:
We must learn from the Afghanistan experience starting with the withdrawal | TheHill - The Hill