Washington, DC — Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the below statement following his receipt of United States Central Command’s briefing on the findings of its Supplemental Review into the ISIS-K terrorist attack on Abbey Gate in Kabul in August 2021. The report found that, contrary to some service members’ assertions that they had identified the ISIS-K suicide bomber prior to the attack, they had not. The report also found that commanders on the ground appropriately applied the rules of engagement and their professional judgement to deny permission to shoot at a suspicious person in the crowd.  

“I want to thank the United States Central Command for conducting another thorough investigation into the 2021 ISIS bombing at Abbey Gate. CENTCOM affirmed the key findings of its original investigation and has proven false the allegations House Republicans have been amplifying for more than a year.  

“I’m disappointed that my Republican colleagues, rather than accepting these exhaustive CENTCOM reviews that undercut their political narrative, have attempted to distract from these facts by lashing out at Democrats as cover for their own oversight malpractice. 

“Despite what they say, when Democrats held the majority, we held dozens of engagements with the Administration on Afghanistan, including on the lessons of the Afghanistan withdrawal and our 20-year war there. The key difference between Democrats’ and Republicans’ oversight is that we’re interested in doing the work, not scoring political points. 

“It is time for my colleagues to stop misleading the public about such an important topic. I hope these findings bring comfort to the families seeking closure after the tragic ISIS attack at Abbey Gate and I commend CENTCOM for its work in undertaking this review.” 

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