US Government Watchdog Blames Both Biden, Trump for Afghanistan Collapse

A U.S. watchdog says the Trump and Biden administrations are to blame for the collapse of Afghanistan’s government due to the U.S. withdrawal from the country in 2021.

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko testified to the House Oversight Committee (pdf) on April 19, identifying five factors behind the collapse.

One of them was that the Afghan government believed the United States would stay.

“Despite many official pronouncements throughout the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations about the U.S. desire to exit Afghanistan, contradictory messaging by U.S. officials failed to convey the seriousness of U.S. intentions,” Sopko wrote.

“Inconsistent U.S. policy statements amplified the confusion.”

Sopko cited the Trump administration’s 2020 deal with the Taliban, which had a conditions-based agreement to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, and a joint U.S.–Afghan government declaration reaffirming their commitment to militarily combat terrorism.

“Both the language of the U.S.–Taliban agreement and statements by senior U.S. officials left open the possibility that the United States would not leave Afghanistan until all the agreement’s conditions were met,” he wrote.

Sopko said that Biden’s April 14, 2021, withdrawal announcement should have put an end to that speculation. However, he said, “It is unclear whether the Afghan government, and particularly President [Ashraf] Ghani, fully grasped its meaning.”

He also noted that Afghan’s security forces were ill-prepared to fight the Taliban.

The second factor he identified is the United States’ leaving out the Afghan government and instead just negotiating with the Taliban.

“The agreement likely led Taliban leaders to seek a resolution with the Afghan government on the battlefield rather than through peace talks,” he wrote.

Sopko’s third factor is the Afghan government’s wanting the Taliban “to be integrated under the umbrella of the Republic.”

He wrote: “A senior member of the Afghan negotiating team, Fatima Gailani, told SIGAR that President Ghani was convinced that President [Joe] Biden would win the 2020 election, and would start negotiations over again from scratch. Accordingly, he refused to relinquish power until the last possible moment.”

Ghani fled Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021.

The fourth factor Sopko noted is that the Taliban was unwilling to budge.

“The U.S. promise to withdraw its military forces and the T