Places blame

White House places blame over Afghanistan withdrawal on Trump administration

From CNN's Aileen Graef

White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby blamed the Trump administration for the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, which was outlined in a report from House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul on Monday.

“First, on the very day this administration took office, the Taliban was in the strongest position it had been in years. The Afghan government the weakest. The Trump administration cut a deal called the Doha agreement that mandated a complete us withdrawal from Afghanistan, and yes, that included Bagram Air Base,” Kirby told reporters.

The report released Monday has been lambasted by Democrats for being politically motivated while revealing no new information. Republicans have said the withdrawal, which saw the deaths of 13 service members after an explosion near the Kabul airport, was a failure of the Biden administration. Kirby declined to further “belabor” the White House’s feelings about the partisan nature of the report.

Retired military leaders place blame on Trump administration as well: Several retired military officials issued a letter in support of Vice President Kamala Harris as Republicans attempt to tie her to the chaotic 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The letter comes after House Republicans and Democrats issued dueling documents casting blame for mistakes made in the US exit from Afghanistan. The Republican report cites Harris as having worked “in lockstep with President Biden behind the scenes to withdraw all US troops.” It also aims to implicate Harris in its accusations by referring to the current government as “the Biden-Harris administration.”

The group of retired generals placed blame on former President Donald Trump for “putting service members in harm’s way” while he was in office, and argued he didn’t leave the Biden administration in a position to execute a withdrawal efficiently.