Biden Administration Briefs Congress on Afghanistan Situation... Blames Trump

Following Former President Trump’s Blueprint, Withdrawal and Afghan Government Forces' Incompetence Also Cause
Blinken: "Witnessed That Warfighting Capability and Will Are Separate"

[Asia Economy International Department Reporter] The Biden administration in the United States has blamed former President Donald Trump for the fall of Afghanistan.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 15th (local time) that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Tony Blinken briefed both ruling and opposition parties on the Afghan situation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the briefing, the opposition raised concerns that the timing of the U.S. troop withdrawal was irrational. They pointed out that hastily withdrawing U.S. troops without waiting for the Taliban's activities to subside during the winter was a strategic mistake.

In response, Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken reportedly rebutted that the withdrawal timing was decided according to the blueprint set by former President Trump. They noted that the peace agreement signed last year between the Trump administration and the Taliban promised to withdraw all foreign troops stationed in Afghanistan by May 1 of this year.

Furthermore, the Biden administration cited the incompetence of the Afghan government forces as a major reason why the Taliban quickly took control of Afghanistan.

Secretary Blinken told lawmakers, "We witnessed that the capability to conduct war and the will to conduct war are separate matters." This meant that the Afghan government forces showed no will to fight against the Taliban.

In an interview with CNN, Secretary Blinken also pointed out the incompetence of the government forces, mentioning that the U.S. had invested astronomical amounts of money in the Afghan government forces over the past 20 years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.