Former White House officials are faulting President Joe Biden’s closest advisers for the chaotic drawdown of American troops in Afghanistan, charging it is up to them to deliver tough messages the commander in chief may be reluctant to hear.

“Biden has got to shake up his national security team,” said Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat and Obama White House official, conceding that while responsibility ultimately lies with Biden, his most senior advisers should be accountable for how the administration executed its strategy. Biden’s exit from Afghanistan, Bruen said, was an “unmitigated disaster.”