The White House sought to blame a lack of preparation by the Trump administration for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, in a summary of reports on the removal of American forces from the country.
“President Biden’s choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor,” according to the 12-page White House account of classified reports shared with Congress on Thursday.
The Biden administration has been heavily criticised for misreading the situation on the ground in Afghanistan before it withdrew troops in August 2021, and for ploughing ahead with the pullout even as the Taliban captured the country’s main cities and took control of Kabul, the capital.