Was the withdrawal from Afghanistan a failure? Were there mistakes? The president and his administration cannot seem to agree.
Hours after the State Department declassified a report acknowledging errors during the end of the American intervention in Afghanistan, Joe Biden denied these claims in a press conference.
"Mr. President, do you admit failure in Afghanistan? Mistakes?" a reporter asked last Friday as Biden was leaving the room where he spoke with the press. The journalist alluded to the declassified document and repeated the question. The Democratic leader turned around and returned to the podium only to respond:
Do you remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said Al Qaeda would not be there. I said it wouldn’t be there. I said we’d get help from the Taliban. What’s happening now? What’s going on? Read your press. I was right.
Reporter : Do you consider leaving Afghanistan a failure? According to reports, mistakes were made and the exit was generally a failure.
Biden : Remember what I said then. I said Al Qaeda would not be there. I said. that we will get rid of the Taliban. And what is happening now?… pic.twitter.com/lTta8qkrFc— Spriter Team (@SpriterTeam) July 1, 2023
Criticism of the withdrawal
Senior officials did not imagine the worst-case scenarios. Key leaders were not given the necessary authority to accomplish tasks. Intransigent political positions were taken which ignored dissenting opinions. Those are some of the flaws pointed out by the State Department, but they are not the only ones. Criticisms were swirling after Biden's public denial.
"Biden promised a safe and orderly withdrawal and that it was 'highly unlikely' the Taliban would take over Afghanistan," tweeted the Republican National Committee's RNC Research group. "Instead, there was absolute chaos, the Taliban took over, and 13 servicemembers were killed."
RNC Research also retrieved a video it had released in 2021 with excerpts of the president's remarks on pulling the troops:
Biden told us Afghanistan wouldn’t fall. He told us it wouldn’t be another Saigon. He told us it was “highly unlikely” the Taliban would overrun the country.
He was completely wrong. pic.twitter.com/vqWya0xqKW
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 18, 2021
International correspondent Tajuden Soroush recalled that the president's words contradict a recent UN report. Published in June, the document goes so far as to say that the terrorist group sees Afghan territory as a "safe haven," and is resuming activities there.
President Biden's words about the presence of al-Qaeda contradict the recent report of the United Nations. The UN report says Al-Qaeda is regrouping in Afghanistan, but Biden says I was right, al-Qaida would not be there and we get help from the Taliban. pic.twitter.com/rhNHzP9eEl
— Tajuden Soroush (@TajudenSoroush) June 30, 2023
"We consider remarks by U.S. President Joe Biden about the nonexistence of armed groups in Afghanistan as acknowledgement of reality," said the Taliban Foreign Ministry, taking the opportunity to deny the UN findings, in statements picked up by Radio Free Europe.
