(NewsNation) — The National Security Council publicly released a 12-page summary of the events leading up to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and how it views the roles both the Trump and Biden administrations played.
There was a lot of finger-pointing within the summary from the Biden White House, taking little responsibility for its own actions and asserting that President Joe Biden was “severely constrained” by former President Donald Trump’s decisions.
Thirteen American troops and more than 100 Afghans died during a bombing at the main airport amid the withdrawal in August 2021.
The White House said that flawed intelligence that made its way to the commander-in-chief was among the issues.
They wrote in the review, “As late as May 2021, the assessment was still that Kabul would probably not come under serious pressure until late 2021 after U.S. troops departed. Faced with these circumstances, President Biden undertook a deliberate, intensive, rigorous, and inclusive decision-making process.”
John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said, “There were some pieces that weren’t accurate and we’re being nothing but honest with you and the American people about what those inaccuracies were, and how they shape some of the decision-making that was laid before the president, and his question, the questions that he that he asked.”
Kirby would not say, however, why there was an intelligence failure.
Among the main themes in the National Security Council review are actions taken by the Trump administration.
For example, the council pointed to the decisions to draw down troops, negotiate with the Taliban, and go virtually silent with the Biden administration during the transition.
In its review, the NSC said, “As a result, when President Biden took office on January 20, 2021, the Taliban were in the strongest military position that they had been in since 2001, controlling or contesting nearly half of the country.”
But at the end of the day, it was President Biden who oversaw the withdrawal.
The White House was asked today, who would be fired as a result of the release of the review.
“This document and this effort isn’t about accountability today, it’s about understanding,” Kirby said. “And I would also add … the review process isn’t over. This is the next muscle movement in what will be a long process to better understand and comprehend and adjust to what we learned and what we did in Afghanistan.”
NewsNation spoke with a former NSC official in the Trump administration and they were aghast at the comments from Kirby. The official described the review as “wild” and “ridiculous,” adding that its “frustrating to try to pass blame for a completely botched withdrawal.”
Retired Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, a senior fellow and military expert at Defense Priorities, weighed in on the 12-page government review on “NewsNation: RushHour,” saying, Biden “deserves some real credit, took a lot of heat for making that hard call. However, there does exist some real problem with how things were conducted.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
