A new report by the US government has attributed the chaos surrounding the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan to the previous administration of Donald Trump. The report states that President Joe Biden was “severely constrained” by decisions made by Trump, including the 2020 deal with the Taliban to end the war. However, the report also acknowledges that the evacuation of civilians could have begun earlier. The deadly pull-out ended America’s longest war, with 13 US soldiers and nearly 200 Afghans losing their lives. The document, which was sent to Congress privately, remains confidential, but a summary has been made public.
The report has sparked a backlash from Republicans, who have been demanding to see it for weeks. They have accused the administration of playing “a disinformation game”. The report also implicates the Afghan government and military, US military, and intelligence community assessments for the delay in evacuations. President Biden’s national security spokesman has blamed the chaos on a depleted operation in Afghanistan inherited from the Trump administration. The report refers to “neglect – and in some cases deliberate degradation” by the Trump administration.
Following the fall of Kabul, the Biden administration received criticism from both home and abroad. The abandonment of Afghans and US weaponry led to anger and searing criticism. Many expressed their disappointment and frustration with the handling of the withdrawal. The report’s purpose is not accountability, according to the national security spokesman. However, it does imply that the evacuation of Americans and Afghans could have started earlier, and that lessons have been learned from the end of the war in Afghanistan.
Source: BBC
