State Department Review Blames Biden for Afghan Withdrawal Debacle
© AP Photo / Shekib Rahmani In this Aug. 16, 2021, file photo, hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at the perimeter of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ordinary Americans and the nation's airlines are combining to donate miles and cash to help Afghan refugees resettle in the United States. Organizers said Tuesday, Oct. 26, they have raised enough donations pay for 40,000 flights, but they're hoping to nearly double that amount. © AP Photo / Shekib RahmaniSubscribeInternationalIndiaAfricaIlya TsukanovAll materialsWrite to the authorTaliban* fighters overran all 34 of Afghanistan’s provincial capitals in the space of 10 days in August 2021, catching evacuating US and allied forces off-guard, and causing the Kabul government and the country’s NATO-trained military to crumble in their wake.President Biden, his administration and predecessor Donald Trump bear responsibility for the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, a State Depar
"The decisions of both President Trump and President Biden to end the US military mission posed significant challenges for the Department as it sought to maintain a robust diplomatic and assistance presence in Kabul and provide continued support to the Afghan government and people" a summary of the unclassified After Action Review on Afghanistan released Friday noted.
"As conditions on the ground deteriorated and the prospects for successful peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban grew dimmer, leadership in the Department and at Embassy Kabul faced the dilemma that significantly reducing the remaining US presence in Afghanistan and accelerating the departure of at-risk Afghans risked undermining confidence in the Afghan government and triggering the very collapse the United States hoped to avoid," the review said.
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