US President Joe Biden on Thursday handed over to Congress secret documents related to the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, which for a long time were especially requested by Republicans, AFP reports, News.ro reports.

The US executive also released a document summarizing how this withdrawal was conceived and executed, concluding that there was no other “scenario” that could be considered unless a consolidated and permanent US military force was maintained in the country to fight against the Taliban.

Biden was left with a stark choice – withdraw all US forces or resume the fight against the Taliban.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby defended the method of withdrawal under the leadership of Joe Biden, saying that the Democratic president was forced to respect the agreements signed by his predecessor Donald Trump with the Taliban.

The withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan “has always been the intention of President” Biden, the spokesman admitted. “But it is also undeniable that the decisions made by the previous administration and the complete lack of preparation clearly limited the options available,” he added.

According to John Kirby, Biden inherited from Trump a depleted Afghanistan operation that let his response down.

Joe Biden “did not negotiate with the Taliban,” Kirby emphasized. “He did not release 5,000 prisoners. He did not reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 and did not make a deal with the Taliban not to attack our troops. It took him months to plan (withdrawal), because if the previous administration had plans, we didn’t see them,” he added.

Images of the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghans from Kabul airport in the late summer of 2021 shocked the US and the world and went viral. Thirteen American soldiers and 170 Afghans were killed in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on August 26 near the airport. On August 30, 2021, one minute before midnight, the last American soldier left the airport of the Afghan capital, 24 hours before the deadline set by the American president for the withdrawal of troops from the country. The Taliban have already regained power.

After Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives, they announced that they would investigate the decisions made by the Biden administration and how it responded to several critical situations, including the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.