White House officials admit Biden goofed on Afghanistan

Officials of the United States government have admitted that President Joe Biden, and his administration, miscalculated in ordering the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan which has led to the take over of the country by Taliban militants.

A senior White House official said Biden has been very worried over the situation in the Southern Asian country as the US struggles to evacuate its diplomats and citizens after the Taliban entered Afghanistan capital, Kabul, on Sunday.

The official said the rapid fall of Afghanistan’s national forces and government has come as a shock to Biden and senior members of his administration, who only last month believed it could take months before the civilian government in Kabul fell.

“Now, months after Biden’s initial declaration that all 2,500 US troops would be out of Afghanistan by the end of the summer, a total of 6,000 troops are expected to help facilitate the evacuation.

“And officials are frankly admitting they miscalculated.

READ ALSO: Biden orders 1,000 more troops to aid Afghanistan departure, blames Trump for conflict

“The President has spoken to members of his national security team on the situation in Afghanistan and will continue to receive updates and be briefed throughout the day.”

Also speaking on the situation, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said:

“The fact of the matter is we’ve seen that that force has been unable to defend the country. And that has happened more quickly than we anticipated.”

Already, some members of Congress are demanding more information from the administration on how its intelligence could have so badly misjudged the situation on the ground, or why more robust contingency plans for evacuating Americans and their allies weren’t in place.

During a briefing for lawmakers on Sunday, top administration officials faced harsh questioning over the withdrawal plans, including the evacuation of Afghan interpreters and others who assisted the US war effort.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pushed the officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, on why the process happened so quickly.

“We didn’t give them air cover. You say you had this plan. No one would plan out this outcome.

“The ramifications of this for America will go on for decades and it won’t just be in Afghanistan,” McCarthy said.

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