WASHINGTON (Middle East Eye) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has blamed his predecessor Donald Trump for Washington’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying in a summary report that “there were no signs that more time, more funds or more Americans” could have fundamentally changed the trajectory.
The 12-page document made public by the White House said Trump had significantly reduced the amount of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and that it further “emboldened the Taliban” by considering whether to host them at Camp David.
“President Biden had committed to ending the war in Afghanistan, but when he came into office, he was confronted with difficult realities left to him by the Trump Administration,” the report said.
In a press conference, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Biden inherited a depleted operation in Afghanistan from Trump, which hindered Washington’s response.
“Transitions matter. That’s the first lesson learned here. And the incoming administration wasn’t afforded much of one,” Kirby said.
The report points to “deliberate degradation” by the Trump administration - an accusation that Kirby said refers to the drawdown of U.S. troops, the release of thousands of Taliban prisoners, and the negotiation of the “Doha agreement” to end the war.
The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who had campaigned on a pledge to finish “endless wars”, brokered a deal with the Taliban known as the Doha agreement.
Following 17 years of bloody war and various failed attempts at diplomacy, the deal was signed in February 2020 by U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, with former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo serving as a witness.
The Taliban agreed that Afghanistan would not be used by groups like Al-Qaeda, the Daesh in Khorasan (Daesh-K), or other terrorist groups to conduct attacks that “threaten the security of the United States”.