Washington: President Joe Biden was "severely constrained" by the choices made by his predecessor, according to a US review of the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, which was overseen by the National Security Council.

Taking little responsibility for its own actions during some of the darkest periods of Biden's presidency, the White House on Thursday made a 12-page summary of the outcomes of the so-called "hotwash" of US policies surrounding the end of the country's longest war available to the public.

The majority of the after-action reviews, which were privately transmitted to Congress on Thursday, were deemed to be highly classified and would not be made public, according to the administration.

Also Read: Japan, the US, and South Korea demand support for the ban on hiring North Koreans

The White House summary notes that when Biden took office, "the Taliban were in the strongest military position that they had been in since 2001, controlling or contesting nearly half of the country," adding that "President Biden's choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor."

The report criticises overly optimistic intelligence community assessments of the Afghan army's combat readiness and claims that Biden followed the pace of the withdrawal of US forces as recommended by military commanders.
The Biden administration is credited with helping Kyiv defend itself against Russia's invasion, and the White House claims that mistakes made in Afghanistan guided its handling of the situation in Ukraine.

Prior to the February 2022 invasion, the White House claims it ran worst-case scenarios and moved to make intelligence about Moscow's intentions public months in advance.

Also Read:  Six suspects are detained in Azerbaijan for a "coup plot"

When faced with a deteriorating security situation, "we now prioritise earlier evacuations," the White House declared.

The Biden administration also mentions that it released pre-war warnings despite "strong objections from senior officials in the Ukrainian government" in an apparent attempt to defend its national security decision-making.

Republicans in Congress have harshly criticised the withdrawal from Afghanistan, highlighting the 13 service members who died in a suicide bombing at the airport in Kabul.

At a congressional hearing last month, former Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who was seriously hurt in the explosion, said the withdrawal "was a catastrophe" and "there was an inexcusable lack of accountability."

During the chaos of Kabul's fall, US forces managed the largest airborne evacuation of noncombatants in history, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

He told reporters, "They put an end to the longest war in our country." "Doing that was never going to be simple. And it was never going to be low grade, low risk, or low cost, as the president himself has stated.

Since the US left the country, Biden has laid the blame for it on the February 2020 deal Trump made with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, claiming that it forced the US to leave.

Analysts hold the agreement responsible for undermining the US-backed government, which would fall so quickly a year later. The agreement gave the Taliban significant legitimacy.

Also Read:  Starship rocket test and rehearsal preparations by SpaceX

However, the agreement also granted the US the right to leave the agreement in the event that Afghan peace talks were unsuccessful, which they were. The US was required to withdraw all forces by May 1, 2021, per the agreement.

The full withdrawal was delayed until September by Biden, who declined to extend the delay because doing so would prolong a conflict that had to be resolved long ago.