After-action Afghanistan report places some blame on Trump administration for botched withdrawal

The Biden administration completed its after-action review of the withdrawal from Afghanistan Thursday, which defended the decision to leave, and stated that there was a lack of options due to the actions of the Trump administration. 

National security spokesman John Kirby made it clear during remarks about the report that leaving Afghanistan was the correct decision and the Biden administration had limited choices due to poor planning by the Trump administration, according to ABC News.

The summary of the report put blame on former President Donald Trump's U.S. troop reductions that were ordered that reportedly made the Taliban stronger.

"First, and most critically, the president's decision to end the war in Afghanistan was the right one," Kirby said during remarks Thursday.

"He's the commander in chief and he absolutely has responsibility for the operations that our men and women conduct and the orders that he gives. And he continues to believe that the order to withdraw from Afghanistan was the right one," he continued. 

The United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, resulting in the Taliban retaking the country and 13 United States soldiers dying.

Kirby also said that some of the intelligence Biden received on the state of the Afghan government was flawed.

"There were some assessments passed to him that proved faulty, that proved to be wrong, that proved to not shake out the way he had been given to understand that they would," he explained.

A U.S. official said that the reports were given to lawmakers through a secure portal so members can access them electronically, according to ABC News.