WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2023) The Defense Department's After Action Review (AAR) of the conflict and withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan will inform future department decision-making, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday.
"This review was an important step to inform future Department of Defense decision-making, and we will continue to support other reviews, including the Afghanistan War Commission's efforts to review the full 20 years of the war," Austin said in a statement.
A thoughtful and comprehensive review of the entirety of the War in Afghanistan will be an important contribution to the nation, Austin said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Defense Department released a classified version of the AAR to members of relevant congressional committees, Austin said.
Austin said the department is committed to working with Congress and other partners across the US government to continue identifying lessons learned from the conflict and turning them into meaningful action.
The White House also released a summary of the AAR on Thursday. The summary claims US President Joe Biden was "severely constrained" in his choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan due to conditions created by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
During the withdrawal, which culminated in an airlift operation from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, 13 US servicemembers and 170 Afghans were killed in a suicide bombing attack. After the suicide bombing attack, the US military launched a drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians.
Biden ended the evacuation several days after the incidents.
The "speed and ease" with which the Taliban took control of Afghanistan suggests there was no scenario except an expanded and permanent US military presence that could have changed the country's trajectory, the AAR summary said.
