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THE IMPROVISED withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan led by Joe Biden left severe repercussions in the United States. Most importantly, the image of weakness and failure that the administration showed to the world strengthened regimes that had not assumed —until that moment—an offensive role. A year after what happened, Republicans in the House of Representatives published a scathing report revealing severe mistakes made by the Democrat administration in withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.
Last year, President Biden allowed the Taliban to take control of Afghanistan with a series of mistakes that continue to take their toll on the country and brought to light vulnerabilities in diplomatic, military, and intelligence matters.
At that time, Biden assured that the withdrawal was taking “in a secure and orderly way, prioritizing the safety of our troops as they depart.” The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan was forced to evacuate after the Taliban seized the nation’s capital, Kabul. Diplomats were evacuated, but the withdrawal left 13 American service members dead and such disruption that the U.S. was uncertain how many Americans were stranded in that country.
Biden withdrew troops without concrete plans to protect Americans and Afghan partners who served the United States for years. Many of them claim to have been abandoned while their lives are still – after 12 months – in danger.
“The Biden administration did not have a plan to stop terrorists when they haphazardly pulled our military out of Afghanistan – putting innocent Americans at home and abroad at risk. The president of the United States let the Taliban, instead of senior military officials, call the shots when it came to pulling troops out of Afghanistan”, Republican Rep. Jake Ellzey criticized.
In addition to this improvisation, billions of dollars of American military weapons were left in the hands of the Taliban, who now possesses an arsenal that includes vehicles and aircraft and knows the secrets of American warfare technology.
Another serious issue that comes to light and has serious consequences is the possibility of the terrorist group Al Qaeda taking refuge in Afghanistan again and growing its power. Although Biden said there is no Al Qaeda concentration in Afghanistan, his spokesman, John Kirby, denies it when he confirmed to CNN that this terrorist organization is actively using Afghanistan as a launching platform to plot and plan attacks against American interests, allies, and the homeland.
“The chaos, turmoil, and lives lost during President Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan are inexcusable. He withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan with no plan – and American lives were lost while our enemies capitalized on his strategic blunder”, added Rep. Ellzey.
The report reveals Biden’s gross improvisation
The Republican House Committee on Foreign Affairs investigation found that only 36 Department of State officials were at the Kabul airport to process Afghans attempting to evacuate despite the Department of State’s claim that it had increased resources to handle the crowds desperately trying to flee the country.
The report, accessed by CNN, also says that the administration did not accurately portray the nature of events on the ground and did not implement a plan to prevent American-trained Afghan commandos from being recruited by U.S. adversaries.
According to the report by the Republicans, it was not until mid-June 2021 that the U.S. Embassy in Kabul held an Operational Planning Team (OPT) meeting with members of the Army and American diplomats focused on prearranging non-combatant evacuation operations (NEO). This means that the first talks about the possibility of noncombatant evacuation occurring only two months before the troop withdrawal.
Only five days after the non-combatant evacuations, extraction flights were taking off at 50 percent capacity.
The report also notes that the government evacuation process was so chaotic and disorganized that even staffers for Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Jill Biden contacted outside groups to get people out.
It also says that the administration failed, even months after the withdrawal, to take steps to prevent U.S.-trained Afghan commandos from being recruited by American adversaries such as Iran, China, or Russia.
Sabrina Martín Rondon is a Venezuelan journalist. Her source is politics and economics. She is a specialist in corporate communications and is committed to the task of dismantling the supposed benefits of socialism // Sabrina Martín Rondon es periodista venezolana. Su fuente es la política y economía. Es especialista en comunicaciones corporativas y se ha comprometido con la tarea de desmontar las supuestas bondades del socialismo