Biden administration's review of Afghanistan withdrawal blames Trump

WASHINGTON

The White House on Thursday announced the release of an after-action report on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, blaming the former President Donald Trump’s administration for a “lack of planning”.

Based on the review, National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby told reporters that President Joe Biden’s decision to end the war in Afghanistan was the “right one”.

“While it was always the president's intent to end that war, it is also undeniable that decisions made and a lack of planning done by the previous administration significantly limited options available to him,” Kirby said.

The report said the departing Trump administration had left the Biden administration with a date for withdrawal, but no plan for executing it.

"And after four years of neglect—and in some cases deliberate degradation—crucial systems, offices, and agency functions that would be necessary for a safe and orderly departure were in disrepair," according to the report.

Kirby also said Biden "inherited a force presence in Afghanistan of some 2,500 troops, the lowest since 2001,” adding that the president also inherited a special immigrant visa program that had been “starved of resources”.

The spokesman recalled Trump administration made a deal with the Taliban to remove all US troops by May 2021, and if Washington did not, the Taliban would resume attacks.

He also said that when Biden's team asked to see plans without removal, they were not provided any by the former administration.

"Transitions matter. That's the first lesson learned here. And the incoming administration was not afforded much of one. Thus, President Biden's choice was stark. Either withdraw all of our forces or resume fighting with the Taliban. He chose the former," he said.

"Another lesson learned was the need to plan early and extensively for the low-probability and high-risk scenarios," he added.

According to Kirby, a “thorough” review was conducted, and is made available to relevant committees in the Senate and House as previewed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as well as to the public on Thursday.

Republican lawmakers have been accusing Biden of the “failed” withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, and the chaos at the Kabul airport in August 2021.

In January, Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee requested documents related to the withdrawal from Afghanistan from the State Department, to being an investigation into the controversial withdrawal.