<p>In a scathing indictment of the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan crisis during the final set of events that led to Taliban’s takeover of power in 2021, the US State Department confirmed Washington’s bureaucratic sluggishness as a significant reason behind the chaos that gripped West’s evacuation from Afghanistan and successive fall of democratically-elected Ashraf Ghani government.</p>

<p>The 21-page report highlighted that both former President Donald Trump and President Biden failed to grasp the consequences of a US military withdrawal on the stability of the erstwhile Afghan government.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The report repeats the points noted by the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/a-paranoid-president-us-abandonment-new-report-reveals-why-afghan-forces-collapsed-after-us-withdrawal-566832">US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)</a> in March 2023, that&nbsp;Biden administration's withdrawal process was "abrupt and uncoordinated—in particular, the withdrawal of contractor support for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF)."</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/a-paranoid-president-us-abandonment-new-report-reveals-why-afghan-forces-collapsed-after-us-withdrawal-566832">A 'paranoid' president, US 'abandonment'— new report on why Afghan forces collapsed after American withdrawal</a></strong></p>

<p>The US reportedly had standard diplomatic rotations in Afghanistan weeks before August 2021, which resulted in diplomats who had only been in the country for a short time being responsible for the US evacuation as Kabul collapsed to the Taliban, report revealed.</p>

<h2><strong>Consequences for Biden</strong></h2>

<p>The&nbsp;report appears set to provide ammunition to Biden's critics, as it sheds light on his handling of the crisis that ultimately handed Afghanistan over to the Taliban. The repercussions included the loss of unspecified Afghan lives, as well as the deaths of at least 13 US service members.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>US did not consider worst-case scenario: State Dept</strong></h2>

<p>Among its findings, the report notes that while the US military had been planning a full evacuation of Kabul for some time before it began in mid-August 2021, the State Department's involvement in the planning process was hindered by a lack of clarity regarding who had the lead role.</p>

<p>According to the report, senior US officials failed to give sufficient consideration to worst-case scenarios before the collapse of the Afghan government in August 2021.</p>

<p><strong>Also watch |&nbsp;Afghan women speak to WION from the ground: 'We want our freedoms back' | WION Originals</strong></p>

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<p>The US withdrawal from Afghanistan culminated in a chaotic and deadly two-week evacuation from Kabul's airport in August 2021.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Tens of thousands who had assisted the American war effort since its invasion after 9/11 attacks were left behind in a process marked by chaos and violence. This included a suicide bombing by the Islamic State that killed 13 US troops and approximately 170 Afghans.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The evacuation began with the swift return of thousands of US troops to Kabul after most had been previously withdrawn. In an agreement arranged hastily, Taliban forces provided security to US troops outside Kabul’s international airport, while US troops managed the airfield and attempted to determine who should be evacuated.</p>

<p>In only 30 days, the Taliban captured all 34 provinces in Afghanistan—33 of the 34 within a 10-day period starting on August 6, 2021. By August 15, 2021, the Taliban did chilling &nbsp;"victory rounds" in Kabul to mark their return to power. By this time, President Ghani fled the country and the United States completed its military withdrawal, giving away the fate of over 40 million Afghan citizens to Taliban hardliners.</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

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In a scathing indictment of the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan crisis during the final set of events that led to Taliban’s takeover of power in 2021, the US State Department confirmed Washington’s bureaucratic sluggishness as a significant reason behind the chaos that gripped West’s evacuation from Afghanistan and successive fall of democratically-elected Ashraf Ghani government.

In a scathing indictment of the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan crisis during the final set of events that led to Taliban’s takeover of power in 2021, the US State Department confirmed Washington’s bureaucratic sluggishness as a significant reason behind the chaos that gripped West’s evacuation from Afghanistan and successive fall of democratically-elected Ashraf Ghani government. The 21-page report highlighted that both former President Donald Trump and President Biden failed to grasp the consequences of a US military withdrawal on the stability of the erstwhile Afghan government. The report repeats the points noted by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in March 2023, that Biden administration's withdrawal process was "abrupt and uncoordinated—in particular, the withdrawal of contractor support for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF)." Also read | A 'paranoid' president, US 'abandonment'— new report on why Afghan forces collapsed after American withdrawal The US reportedly had standard diplomatic rotations in Afghanistan weeks before August 2021, which resulted in diplomats who had only been in the country for a short time being responsible for the US evacuation as Kabul collapsed to the Taliban, report revealed. Consequences for Biden The report appears set to provide ammunition to Biden's critics, as it sheds light on his handling of the crisis that ultimately handed Afghanistan over to the Taliban. The repercussions included the loss of unspecified Afghan lives, as well as the deaths of at least 13 US service members. US did not consider worst-case scenario: State Dept Among its findings, the report notes that while the US military had been planning a full evacuation of Kabul for some time before it began in mid-August 2021, the State Department's involvement in the planning process was hindered by a lack of clarity regarding who had the lead role. According to the report, senior US officials failed to give sufficient consideration to worst-case scenarios before the collapse of the Afghan government in August 2021. Also watch | Afghan women speak to WION from the ground: 'We want our freedoms back' | WION Originals × The US withdrawal from Afghanistan culminated in a chaotic and deadly two-week evacuation from Kabul's airport in August 2021. Tens of thousands who had assisted the American war effort since its invasion after 9/11 attacks were left behind in a process marked by chaos and violence. This included a suicide bombing by the Islamic State that killed 13 US troops and approximately 170 Afghans. The evacuation began with the swift return of thousands of US troops to Kabul after most had been previously withdrawn. In an agreement arranged hastily, Taliban forces provided security to US troops outside Kabul’s international airport, while US troops managed the airfield and attempted to determine who should be evacuated. In only 30 days, the Taliban captured all 34 provinces in Afghanistan—33 of the 34 within a 10-day period starting on August 6, 2021. By August 15, 2021, the Taliban did chilling "victory rounds" in Kabul to mark their return to power. By this time, President Ghani fled the country and the United States completed its military withdrawal, giving away the fate of over 40 million Afghan citizens to Taliban hardliners. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Both Trump and Biden responsible for Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan: US state department

<p>India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that “nobody saw the endgame coming” in Afghanistan and called on the international community to “work in the collective interest” of Afghans.</p>

<p>These were the first public comments by the minister on the current situation in Afghanistan, which saw a surprise takeover from the Taliban of Kabul on August 15. Earlier, he only made a public statement&nbsp;on the Afghanistan evacuation process but didn't express his views on the Taliban seizing power.</p>

<p>Speaking at the JG Crawford Oration 2021, he pointed out, “All of us understood for some years that the presence of the United States and its allies would wind down eventually in Afghanistan... The fact was that for all the debate and deliberations on it, it would be a fair statement to assert that the endgame was not something that anybody saw it coming. It wasn't exactly the scenario anybody was prepared for.”</p>

<p>Ever since the fall of Kabul, India left no stones unturned to evacuate as many of the citizens it can. It has been coordinating with several countries like the US, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Oman and lifted more than 500 people, of which more than 200 are Afghans, mostly Sikhs and Hindus.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Highlighting New Delhi’s role in taking up the Afghanistan issue in the United Nations Security Council, he said, “I should emphasise that in the UNSC, in the month where we held the presidency, the members passed resolution 2593 on Taliban, demanding that Afghanistan’s territory should not be used for terrorism, and expecting them to live up to their promises of forming an inclusive government, and better treatment of minorities, women, children.”</p>

<p><strong>Also read |</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/how-will-the-taliban-govern-a-history-of-rebel-rule-offers-clues-410481">How will the Taliban govern? A history of rebel rule offers clues</a></p>

<p>India is the non-permanent member of the council and it held the chair of the presidency in August, presiding over key meetings. Under its presidency, three meetings took place on Afghanistan—on August 6, August 16, and August 30—the last one saw a resolution being passed on the Afghanistan crisis. The resolution saw the backing of 13 countries, while the remaining two—Russia and China—abstained from voting.</p>

<p>Cautioning against some countries’ “natural temptation of diplomacy to score a point above the others and try to get ahead in the game", he said, “This is the time for the international community to actually come together and work in what is true for the collective interest.”</p>

<p>While heartbreaking visuals of Afghans fleeing the country via the Hamid Karzai International Airport emerged, there has been a deafening silence by the international community on the crisis. During the UNSC meeting, a divide emerged between the West, led by the US, and Russia and China on the issue of engaging with the Taliban.</p>

<p>Speaking on the role of the US in the aftermath of the Afghan crisis, the EAM said, “US is the US, it has deep strengths, an extraordinary capacity to re-invent itself, re-energize itself. We have seen that in history and that some variant of the debate would have also happened in the 1970s&nbsp;after Washington's Vietnam debacle.”</p>


India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that “nobody saw the endgame coming” in Afghanistan and called on the international community to “work in the collective interest” of Afghans.

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that “nobody saw the endgame coming” in Afghanistan and called on the international community to “work in the collective interest” of Afghans. These were the first public comments by the minister on the current situation in Afghanistan, which saw a surprise takeover from the Taliban of Kabul on August 15. Earlier, he only made a public statement on the Afghanistan evacuation process but didn't express his views on the Taliban seizing power. Speaking at the JG Crawford Oration 2021, he pointed out, “All of us understood for some years that the presence of the United States and its allies would wind down eventually in Afghanistan... The fact was that for all the debate and deliberations on it, it would be a fair statement to assert that the endgame was not something that anybody saw it coming. It wasn't exactly the scenario anybody was prepared for.” Ever since the fall of Kabul, India left no stones unturned to evacuate as many of the citizens it can. It has been coordinating with several countries like the US, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Oman and lifted more than 500 people, of which more than 200 are Afghans, mostly Sikhs and Hindus. Highlighting New Delhi’s role in taking up the Afghanistan issue in the United Nations Security Council, he said, “I should emphasise that in the UNSC, in the month where we held the presidency, the members passed resolution 2593 on Taliban, demanding that Afghanistan’s territory should not be used for terrorism, and expecting them to live up to their promises of forming an inclusive government, and better treatment of minorities, women, children.” Also read | How will the Taliban govern? A history of rebel rule offers clues India is the non-permanent member of the council and it held the chair of the presidency in August, presiding over key meetings. Under its presidency, three meetings took place on Afghanistan—on August 6, August 16, and August 30—the last one saw a resolution being passed on the Afghanistan crisis. The resolution saw the backing of 13 countries, while the remaining two—Russia and China—abstained from voting. Cautioning against some countries’ “natural temptation of diplomacy to score a point above the others and try to get ahead in the game", he said, “This is the time for the international community to actually come together and work in what is true for the collective interest.” While heartbreaking visuals of Afghans fleeing the country via the Hamid Karzai International Airport emerged, there has been a deafening silence by the international community on the crisis. During the UNSC meeting, a divide emerged between the West, led by the US, and Russia and China on the issue of engaging with the Taliban. Speaking on the role of the US in the aftermath of the Afghan crisis, the EAM said, “US is the US, it has deep strengths, an extraordinary capacity to re-invent itself, re-energize itself. We have seen that in history and that some variant of the debate would have also happened in the 1970s after Washington's Vietnam debacle.”

Endgame was not something that anybody saw coming: Jaishankar on Afghanistan

Taliban's Badri 313 military unit takes control of Kabul airport

WION brings you some images from inside the Kabul airport where battle hardened soldiers share some lighter moments with children.

Afghanistan: Battle hardened soldiers share some lighter moments with children

India too voiced its concerns around the use of Afghanistan soil by terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. It also reiterated its concerns around the rights of women, children, and minorities.

India at UNHRC: Hope terrorists don't use Afghan soil

As thousands try to flee in a desperate bid to escape the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, vehicles patrolled the streets of Kabul with the Taliban flag on them.

Taliban fighters patrol the streets of Kabul amid chaos

"I am very grateful that I made it out from Afghanistan but am really worried and concerned for my people back their", says Afghanistan's biggest female pop star Aryana Sayeed as she recounts her escape from Kabul.

'It's heartbreaking to see the misery of Afghans', says Aryana Sayeed, Afghanistan Pop Star