The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has blamed his predecessor Donald Trump for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, though he acknowledged mistakes were made in a new report released.

Yesterday, Thursday, Biden handed over to Congress secret documents on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, which the Republicans have long demanded. The White House took the opportunity to justify its decision to end America’s longest running war in August 2021.

In a 12-page report explaining how the withdrawal was planned and carried out, the US government concludes that no other “scenario” could have been realized. He also emphasizes that Trump’s decisions, including his administration’s 2020 deal with the Taliban to end the US presence in Afghanistan, have “severely limited” his options.

However, he acknowledges that the removal of civilians from Afghanistan should have started earlier.

“Finally, after more than 20 years, more than 2 trillion. dollars and after the organization of the 300,000th Afghan army, the speed and ease with which the Taliban took control of Afghanistan indicates that there was no other scenario that could change the course of events, except for a permanent and clearly reinforced American presence, ”underlined in the message.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan before the last American soldier left the country, and National Security Council spokesman Joe Kirby acknowledged that the White House did not expect this lightning victory, nor the massive collapse of the Afghan military and authorities. .

“We were wrong”

“Obviously we were wrong” in terms of the information we have, Kirby acknowledged in a press briefing, adding that Washington “does not fully understand the extent of corruption among Afghan officials.”

“The end of the war, whatever it may be, is not an easy task, and certainly not in 20 years,” he stressed. “That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it.

The withdrawal of American troops “has always been in the intention of the President” Biden, Kirby reminded. The President of the United States has repeatedly explained that the US military, having successfully completed its original mission to combat the terrorist threat in Afghanistan, must be redeployed elsewhere to deal with other threats.

The White House also attacked former President Trump: “It is also indisputable that the decisions made by the previous administration and the complete lack of preparation severely limited the options.”

For his part, the former Republican president blamed the “idiots in the White House” who blame him for this “catastrophe.”

“Biden is to blame, no one else!” he stressed in a post on Truth Social.

Kirby also praised the scale and speed of the eviction operation carried out by the Americans, who managed to remove more than 120,000 people from Afghanistan in a few days.

“I’ve never seen the mess they’re talking about,” Kirby remarked.

The White House, not going to openly admit that they were wrong, assured in a report released yesterday that Washington is now “prioritizing more timely evacuation,” citing the expulsion of American diplomats from Ukraine as an example.

Yet, regardless of Kirby’s assessment, this historic withdrawal from Afghanistan has left an image of chaos in the public mind, both in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

The world has seen footage of the Kabul airport besieged by a crowd of people trying to leave the country by any means. Another 13 US soldiers and 170 Afghans were killed on August 26 in an attack by the Islamic State near the airport.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters, AFP.