Steve HermanWhite House review of #Afghanistan withdrawal asserts "there were no signs that more time, more funds or more Americans" could have fundamentally changed the trajectory."
Decisions made and lack of planning by the Trump administration limited President Biden's options on the #Afghanistan withdrawal, says NSC spokesman John Kirby.
"Transitions matter. That's the lesson learned here and the incoming administration was not afforded much of one," adds NSC spokesman.
"This is the result of months and month of work" by numerous US government agencies to review the #Afghanistan withdrawal, says NSC spokesman Kirby. "No effort here to obfuscate or bury something." (The summary was released 10 minutes before the start of today's White House briefing.)
"We learned from Afghanistan and we applied that lesson in Ukraine and Ethiopia," responds Kirby under questioning from White House reporters on the withdrawal report summary just released.
"These documents are sensitive and are classified" but Biden "has taken the extraordinary step" to share the after-action review with lawmakers, says NSC spokesman Kirby. "The idea is to learn from them" and apply the lessons learned, as needed.
"It's not hunting for heads," explains Kirby when asked about accountability in the classified after-action review on the #Afghanistan withdrawal.
"There was no visibility into what they had done," says NSC spokesman Kirby of the Trump administration's decisions on #Afghanistan. "None of those plans were forthcoming."
Statement from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III on the DoD #Afghanistan After Action Review.
Here's the unclassified summary on the #Afghanistanwithdrawl as released by the White House: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/US-Withdrawal-from-Afghanistan.pdf
Among lessons learned from review of the #Afghanistanwithdrawl: Strengthening State Department’s “overall contingency planning, crisis preparedness, and response capabilities,” says Secretary Blinken in a statement.
Alexander Ruthol@w7voa
I'd think not letting a Pakistani agent plan, negotiate, and execute the withdrawal might be a good idea too.
I'd think not letting a Pakistani agent plan, negotiate, and execute the withdrawal might be a good idea too.