Topline
Sections of a State Department review published Friday fault the administrations of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump for not adequately preparing for consequences of withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan—which drew ire from many over its botched execution.
A State Department review, part of which was published Friday, criticized the Trump and Biden … [+]
Key Facts
The review, published by members of the State Department’s Afghanistan After Action Review team, blasted Biden and Trump for actions taken before, during and after the country’s collapse—an event that resulted in the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.
The review found that both administrations lacked sufficient “senior-level consideration of worst-case scenarios and how quickly those might follow.”
The planning process for the evacuation operation was “hindered” by the State Department, which failed to make it clear who within the department had the lead, according to the review.
The details of a plan to keep some U.S. forces in Afghanistan following the evacuation were not properly settled on by the time Kabul, the country’s capital, fell to the Taliban in August 2021.
Only 23 pages of the 87-page report, which was completed last year, were released to the public by the Biden administration.
Key Background
The Afghanistan After Action Review team was created at the request of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who shifted blame to Trump for the U.S.’s messy withdrawal from Afghanistan. “We inherited a deadline. We did not inherit a plan,” Blinken said in a 2021 congressional testimony. Trump had struck a deal with the Taliban in 2020 that would have had U.S. military personnel gone from the country by May 2021. However, the deadline was extended by Biden and as troops began to be pulled out, the Taliban quickly took over territory in the country as Afghanistan’s government collapsed. The departure from Afghanistan, which evacuated more than 6,000 Americans from the country, marked the end of a 20-year occupation by the U.S. military. In total, more than 122,000 people were evacuated during the withdrawal.
Crucial Quote
A senior State Department official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity said the report revealed that “crises that are longer duration, that are particularly complicated, that occur at a large scale, that impact populations well beyond the official American community, we haven’t over time had the appropriate structure and resources available to provide that foundation, a steady, constant set of capabilities that we can draw on when we’re suddenly confronting something at scale.” The statement was reported by the Washington Post.
What We Don’t Know
It is unclear if and when the rest of the report will be released to the public.
Further Reading
U.S. Withdraws Final Troops From Afghanistan, Pentagon Says (Forbes)
State Department failed to plan or respond fast enough in Afghanistan collapse, new US report finds (AP)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/06/30/review-finds-biden-and-trump-failed-to-consider-impact-of-afghanistan-withdrawal-more-a-year-after-taliban-takeover/