The Biden administration is defending its decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in talking points provided to congressional Democrats that say Kabul’s fall was possible but not inevitable, but absent the will of Afghan soldiers to fight, a troop surge would have been necessary to create a different outcome.
“There were contingency plans in place for any eventuality — including a quick fall of Kabul,” the White House said in the document, pointing to U.S. troops stationed in the region. But a U.S. troop deployment would have been needed to arrest the Taliban’s advance inside the country.
“It’s clear from the past few weeks” that a surge would have been needed following a drawdown from 13,000 to 2,500 troops under former President Donald Trump, according to the memo. “Here’s what the President was not willing to do: enter a third decade of conflict and surge in thousands of more troops to fight in a civil war that Afghanistan wouldn’t fight for themselves.”
AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL SUDDENLY BECOMES PERILOUS FOR BIDEN
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office shared the talking points with Democratic Party members on Monday, shortly before Biden was set to deliver remarks at the White House.
The talking points heap blame on Afghan forces, stating that Biden said in July the Afghan military had the ability to fight the Taliban “but they had to demonstrate the will.”
“Tragically, that will did not materialize,” it said.
Addressing the terrorist threat, the White House pointed to “over the horizon” counterterrorism capabilities that suffice in countries such as Syria, Libya, and Yemen.
The memo also claims that many Afghan allies and translators chose not to travel to the United States, despite receiving visas, “hopeful” that they could remain in their home country.
“Part of the answer is that many did not want to leave earlier,” according to the memo. “Many Afghans to whom we gave visas to come to the US chose to stay in their country, still hopeful.”
Officials have struggled to process the number of Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans who worked alongside Americans in the country, including as translators for the military, and whose lives are now at risk.
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Biden has faced mounting pressure to address the nation as the security situation in Kabul grew more acute. Just a month ago, the president assured the public that “the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.”
He was largely silent last week as the Taliban consolidated power across Afghanistan, sweeping first through provincial capitals before surrounding Kabul on Sunday.
