POSTMORTEM

State Department Botched Afghanistan Evacuation, Report Says

The report found mistakes made under both the Biden and Trump administrations resulted in the chaotic withdrawal.

A new report from the Biden administration blames the tumultuous 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in part on poor planning and miscommunication in the State Department. Newly released sections of the long-awaited report—issued by the State Department itself—find that the department’s slow response to the rapidly unraveling situation in Afghanistan made for a chaotic outcome, according to the Associated Press. The review lays the blame at the feet of both the Biden administration and that of his predecessor, Donald Trump. It concluded that “during both administrations there was insufficient senior-level consideration of worst-case scenarios and how quickly those might follow.” The withdrawal left thousands of the U.S.’s Afghan allies stranded in the Taliban-controlled country, and 13 Marines died during the evacuation.