WASHINGTON (NBC News) – The Biden administration recently began discussing how to handle the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan next month to avoid missteps that could add to President Joe Biden’s political woes, according to six administration officials.
The National Security Council also has been reaching out over the past few weeks to the Defense and State department and intelligence officials to check on the status of their internal reviews of the withdrawal, officials said, as Biden’s advisers brace for a renewed spotlight on a widely criticized effort that shook his standing with Americans.
The comprehensive review of the withdrawal, which the White House vowed to undertake nearly a year ago, is still not complete, officials said. While the intelligence community’s review is close to finished, much of that report is expected to be classified. The Pentagon’s and the State Department’s reviews are ongoing, officials said. They also said the White House has not yet decided what might be made public or turned over to Congress.
The National Security Council’s status checks with agencies about its promised review and internal discussions on how to approach the withdrawal anniversary come as Biden’s job approval among Americans has reached new lows. His aides hope to mitigate further political damage from a moment that will remind Americans of an effort many of them consider one of Biden’s biggest failures, at a time when they are already questioning his effectiveness on a host of issues.
And while planning for an anniversary or any other milestone is routine for any White House, it is usually focused on celebratory moments, such as the president’s signing major legislation into law or widely praised national security successes.
The Afghanistan withdrawal, by contrast, was one of the darkest chapters of Biden’s presidency. It marked a turning point, seven months after Biden took office, that raised questions among Republicans and Democrats about the competence of his administration. Indeed, the White House expects, and has begun planning for, congressional investigations into the withdrawal if Republicans win the House or the Senate in November’s midterm elections, according to people familiar with the matter.
The internal discussions about how — or how not — to approach the anniversary have so far been coordinated by John Kirby, who recently moved from press secretary at the Pentagon to a senior communications post at the National Security Council. Kirby recently held two conference calls — one on July 1 and another on Friday — with officials from the State Department, the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, the intelligence community and other agencies to discuss the issue.