President Joe Biden's administration allegedly "watered-down" reports about crumbling security in Afghanistan, months before the highly criticized withdrawal of troops and Afghan allies, leading to a troublesome scenario in the South Asian country, according to a new GOP report.
The report, according to AP News, minimized the role of former President Donald Trump in the disastrous withdrawal despite the Republican having signed the deal with the Taliban.
As part of a pact with Taliban, Trump reduced American troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500 from 13,000 and Biden bungled the execution of the withdrawal itself.
NBC News stated that the new report by House Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee claims Biden, his subordinates, particularly the acting ambassador to Kabul, of "botching" the withdrawal as the administration opted to reduce troop levels and failing to establish evacuation plans.
The GOP review, which was based on testimony from officials and internal State Department documents, provided an elaborate narration of the failures in both military and civilian aspect, which transpired after the withdrawal deal of Trump with the Taliban in February 2020.
The report stated that the withdrawal allowed the Taliban to conquer the country even before the last number of officials got out of the country on Aug. 30, 2021.
"Our investigation reveals the Biden-Harris administration had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government," said committee chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-TX. He then underscored that the Biden administration allegedly "picked optics over security" each step of the way.
Democrats on committee have already dismissed the report even before its release, calling the move as timed for a GOP political mileage during the final stage of the U.S. presidential elections.
Officials from the Biden administration have defended the manner by which the withdrawal was handled, accusing the former president of tying the hands of the present administration when it agreed with the "flawed deal."
Sharon Yang, a spokesperson from the White House, stated that the GOP report was derived from "cherry-picked facts, inaccurate characterizations, and preexisting biases."
"Because of the bad deal former President Trump cut with the Taliban to get out of Afghanistan by May of 2021, President Biden inherited an untenable position," said Yang.
A statement from House Democrats also noted that their Republican colleagues did not consider the facts about the role of Trump in the controversial withdrawal.
