Biden White House largely blames Trump admin for troubled U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
NBCNov 27, 2022
The Facts
The US National Security Council (NSC) on Thursday released a 12-page summary of its review of the failed August 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, placing extensive blame on Donald Trump's admin. despite the move being ordered by and taking place under Pres. Joe Biden.
The report pointed out that Trump ordered talks with the Taliban and the removal of US troops by May 2021 but claimed he fell short of giving Biden plans on how to carry out the final withdrawal during the government transition.
The Spin
Republican narrative
For anyone paying attention, this report is clearly a political stunt aimed at diverting blame away from those responsible. The Biden admin. handed it out to reporters just ten minutes before John Kirby's press conference, which is a classic PR move to ensure those who want to ask questions have no time to review the material at hand. Biden was in charge of this withdrawal and had every intelligence and military tool at his disposal, but he choked, and now he's playing blame games instead of taking responsibility for the 13 Americans who died under his watch.
Democratic narrative
Any dutiful outgoing administration would have worked tirelessly to help prepare the incoming president for such an important military operation, but Trump failed to do that. He made America look weak by inviting the Taliban to Camp David on the 18th anniversary of 9/11 and then telling them when the withdrawal would take place. Yes, the Biden admin. should have anticipated the collapse and evacuated troops sooner, but its choices were constrained by conditions created by his predecessor.
