WASHINGTON — The Biden administration lacked “a sufficient sense of urgency” when planning for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, according to an after-action report released Friday by the State Department.
The unclassified version of the report, spanning 24 pages, lays out in detail the obstacles the government encountered in planning for the withdrawal, which grew chaotic as Afghanistan became overrun by Taliban fighters far more quickly than officials had expected.
The report will likely provide ammunition to congressional critics of the Biden administration who have spent months investigating alleged missteps by the State Department. Confusion and desperation on the ground in Kabul ultimately led to the death of 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans. It also left thousands of Afghans with ties to the U.S. government stranded in Afghanistan.
