WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st July, 2023) Both former US President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden failed to correctly assess how a US military withdrawal would impact the stability of the Afghan government, the State Department said in a report prepared by the After Action Review (AAR) team.
"The decisions of both President Trump and President Biden to end the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan had serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government and its security," the report said. "For the Department, the end to the U.S. military mission presented an enormous challenge..."
Moreover, the decision of the American government to withdraw from Afghanistan undermined confidence in the Afghan government and triggered the collapse of the country amid deteriorating conditions on the ground and as the prospects for successful peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban (under UN sanctions) grew dimmer, the report added.
According to the report, it had long been predicted by various observers that the withdrawal of US military forces would precipitate the collapse of the Afghan government, but US officials ignored those views and relied instead on assurances that the Ghani government and its security forces would concentrate on the defense of Kabul and believed that they could resist the Taliban for some time.
The review team also found that an insufficient sense of urgency was one of the Primary reasons the fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021, caught the State Department and the US embassy by surprise even though they prepared a range of scenarios, including the possibility of a full evacuation from Afghanistan.
