#Pentagon turns over Afghanistan withdrawal reviews to Congress

The Pentagon on Thursday provided Congress with reviews examining the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021, with the White House offering its own unclassified outline defending the decisions surrounding the exit.

Agencies within the State Department and Pentagon involved in the withdrawal have conducted after-action reviews of the effort over the past several months, and classified versions will be given to relevant committees in the House and Senate, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday. 

Officials had previously indicated they would turn over reviews to Congress by mid-April.

The review comes as House Republicans have pledged to use their new majority to scrutinize the withdrawal, including the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate at the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. troops and 170 Afghans.

The unclassified outline released by the White House defended the decisions around the withdrawal and said that President Biden took the advice of military commanders on the tactical decisions about the “operational retrograde of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, including the dates they closed facilities.”

“While it was always the president’s intent to end that war, it is also undeniable that decisions made and the lack of planning done by the previous administration significantly limited options available to him,” Kirby said.

“Despite having his options curtailed, President Biden led a deliberate, rigorous, and including decision-making process that was responsive to the facts on the ground,” he added.