The White House on Thursday released a long-awaited review of the US exit from Afghanistan, laying blame on Donald Trump and a huge intelligence failure, but defending overall US conduct of the traumatic operation.
The classified review was sent to Congress, where the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is investigating what it says is President Joe Biden’s failures during the August 2021 withdrawal.
Presenting a declassified summary, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby conceded mistakes had been made in the exit, which saw the Taliban seize control of Afghanistan within weeks, forcing the last American troops and their allies into a desperate evacuation.
“Ending a war, any war, is not an easy endeavor, certainly not after 20 years,” Kirby told reporters. “It doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth doing — ending that war in Afghanistan.”
The White House largely blamed Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump for creating the conditions leading to the rout.বিস্তারিত