Biden administration blames Trump for problems with withdrawal from Afghanistan

White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby answered questions from reporters at an online news conference.

Noting that the Ministry of Defense (Pentagon) will submit to Congress today a report examining the US withdrawal process from Afghanistan, Kirby said that the relevant state institutions have conducted thorough investigations into the roles and decisions of the relevant institutions. . in the withdrawal processes from Afghanistan for months.

Kirby shared his views in the report on the White House withdrawal process and “lessons learned” from this experience.

“The President’s (Joe Biden) decision to end the war in Afghanistan was correct.” Kirby, who said, defended the view that the US had fulfilled its mission to reduce the terrorist threat caused by the invasion of Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, long ago.

“While it has always been the president’s intent to end this war, it cannot be denied that the decisions of the previous administration and a lack of planning have significantly limited the options available to him,” Kirby said. He accused Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, of not being prepared during this process.

TRUMP’S HERITAGE IN AFGHANISTAN

When Biden took office, Kirby said the US military presence in Afghanistan was at its lowest level since 2001. He said he took over the deal, which calls for his withdrawal from the country by May 2021.

Kirby said Biden asked about his plans to withdraw from the previous administration but was unable to get the necessary answer, adding that the first lesson they learned in this context was the “importance of transition processes.”

Noting that despite the previous administration’s lack of planning, Biden is trying to carry out a careful, comprehensive and planned process that is responsive to the realities on the ground, Kirby said the evacuation plan began in the spring of 2021 and that he ordered the deployment. of additional military forces to Afghanistan if necessary.

Kirby noted that Biden ordered his team to be ready for the “worst-case scenario,” otherwise drawing attention to the inadequacy of intelligence agencies.

INSUFFICIENCY OF THE INSTITUTIONS

Saying that no institution predicted that the Taliban would take Kabul and then-President Ashraf Ghani would quickly flee and US-trained Afghan soldiers would fail, Kirby said the importance of low-probability, high-risk scenarios is the second lesson learned in this context.

Implying that Trump’s Afghanistan policy is responsible for what happened, Kirby said:

“(Biden) did not negotiate with the Taliban. He did not invite the Taliban to Camp David. He did not free 5,000 prisoners. He did not reduce the force level in Afghanistan to 2,500. He also did not have an agreement with the Taliban not to attack our soldiers. (Biden) He came with certain conditions. He didn’t have the ability to change them.”

At the meeting, where tensions with reporters occasionally escalated, Kirby said that while not everything was perfect, the Biden administration and the staff working in Afghanistan had accomplished a lot and for that he was proud.

Kirby also assessed that since the United States did not fight a ground war in Afghanistan, it had a stronger strategic footing in support of Ukraine and in competition with China.