On August 20, 2021 Biden claimed the U.S. went to Afghanistan to destroy al Qaeda, and had done so. Less than an hour later, a Pentagon spokesman contradicted him and said al Qaeda still existed in Afghanistan.<ref>https://nypost.com/2021/08/20/biden-stumbles-with-afghan-questions-says-americans-can-reach-kabul/</ref> His assurance that the Taliban promised people with U.S. passports were being cleared through Taliban checkpoints was immediately contradicted by the State Department. When asked by [[ABC News]]' [[George Stephanopoulos]]: “Your military advisers did not tell you, ‘we should just keep 2,500 troops. It’s been a stable situation for the last several years. We can do that. We can continue to do that’?" Biden insisted, “No. No one said that to me that I can recall.”<ref>https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1442877015183421447</ref> Under oath [[CENTCOM]] commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie testified, | On August 20, 2021 Biden claimed the U.S. went to Afghanistan to destroy al Qaeda, and had done so. Less than an hour later, a Pentagon spokesman contradicted him and said al Qaeda still existed in Afghanistan.<ref>https://nypost.com/2021/08/20/biden-stumbles-with-afghan-questions-says-americans-can-reach-kabul/</ref> His assurance that the Taliban promised people with U.S. passports were being cleared through Taliban checkpoints was immediately contradicted by the State Department. When asked by [[ABC News]]' [[George Stephanopoulos]]: “Your military advisers did not tell you, ‘we should just keep 2,500 troops. It’s been a stable situation for the last several years. We can do that. We can continue to do that’?" Biden insisted, “No. No one said that to me that I can recall.”<ref>https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1442877015183421447</ref> Under oath [[CENTCOM]] commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie testified, |