U.S army officers involved in evacuating Americans and Afghan allies in Afghanistan have blamed the Biden administration for its reluctance in evacuating the people as the Taliban militia advanced across the country. The officers said this in testimony.
The officers shared their different stories, which helped paint the picture of the situation. The army was carrying an investigative report.
The army officers, in an interview, painted the picture of how desperate afghans desperately attempted to access Kabul airport as they were running from the Taliban. The latter had dominated almost all of Afghanistan.
According to the military officers, the activity would have been smooth if only the senior officials had a picture of Afghanistan’s situation. However, because they did not have this picture, their decisions were not wise and caused the loss of lives.
“I think we could have been much better prepared to conduct a more orderly NEO if policymakers had paid attention to the indicators of what was happening on the ground, and the timelines associated with the Taliban advance, and the TB intent to conduct a military takeover,” Peter Vasily, testified.
The Washington Post was the first to report the testimony, and they did this after obtaining the “freedom of information act request.”
However, Biden’s officials defended and praised how it handled the evacuation when asked. They further denied the claims that the operation’s preparation and planning were insufficient.
Another military supervisor sent during the last days of the operation reported a lack of urgency in the operation. “In my opinion, the NSC was not seriously planning for an evacuation,” he told investigators.
According to them, some statements recorded by the military officers in the report were false and misleading. “Some of the claims allegedly included in the report regarding State Department personnel and plans are outright false and shamefully so,” said the spokesperson of the state.
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