WASHINGTON – The results of the long-delayed government review of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will be released next month, the White House announced Wednesday, with Congress and the public set to see an assessment of what went wrong as America ended its longest war.
The August 2021 pullout of U.S. troops led to the swift collapse of the Afghan government and military, which the U.S. had supported for nearly two decades, and the return to power of the Taliban. In the aftermath, President Joe Biden directed that a broad review examine "every aspect of this from top to bottom.”
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It was originally set to be released at the one-year anniversary of the withdrawal but was delayed while agencies continued their work.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that the work was nearly complete and that the administration was readying the release next month.
“We expect to be able to share those takeaways with the public by mid-April,” Kirby said. He said the administration would share classified sections of the report with congressional oversight committees.
House Republicans have been pushing the Biden administration since the withdrawal to release documents related to official communications and the review of how the chaotic fall of Kabul came to be.
There are currently two ongoing investigations into the withdrawal. One them is being led by Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who requested documents from Blinken in January. On Wednesday, the House Republican received the first batch of documents from the State Department.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to appear Thursday before McCaul and the Foreign Affairs committee, where he is expected to be grilled on the withdrawal.
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Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed from Washington.