The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan marked the end of America’s longest war, and a large amount of criticism over its chaotic and tragic execution. No doubt, President Joe Biden is partially responsible for criticism for the execution of this withdrawal, but, despite what pundits might tell you this election season, so is former President Donald Trump. A withdrawal like this doesn’t happen spontaneously, and Trump laid the foundation for its greatest failings.
I served in Vietnam, flying Close Air Support missions, and I vividly remember the chaotic evacuation from Saigon in April 1975. Any withdrawal from a combat zone is challenging. To understand Afghanistan’s withdrawal, we must consider the incompetence and groundwork laid by Trump.
In February 2020, Trump signed the Doha Agreement with the Taliban, setting a timeline for U.S. withdrawal by May 2021. The deal included releasing 5,000 Taliban terrorists and removing sanctions on Taliban leaders—all without involving the Afghan government. This wasn’t an oversight; it was a weak and reckless deal of the highest order.
This left Biden with few options. Reversing the agreement would have likely escalated violence against U.S. forces, while adhering to it posed its own challenges. After losing the 2020 election, Trump ordered a rapid withdrawal, scheduled to be completed before Biden’s inauguration. Reports suggest this decision was driven by spite, intending to complicate Biden’s efforts. Fortunately, it wasn’t fully implemented, giving Biden’s team time to plan.
Donald Trump wants Americans to forget that he had four years to exit Afghanistan but failed. Instead, he struck a secret deal with the Taliban and laid the groundwork for putting U.S. troops in harm’s way. He left office with no plan for an orderly withdrawal, leaving a dangerous, costly mess. Trump even bragged that the Biden-Harris administration “couldn’t stop the process” he started.
When Biden took office, he extended the withdrawal deadline to August 31, 2021, to allow more time for evacuation. In August 2023, U.S. Central Command released a review of the Abbey Gate attack during the evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The attack, which killed 13 U.S. service members and over 170 Afghan civilians, was carried out by ISIS-K, a terrorist group that exploited the chaos.
This tragedy hit me personally. Through my non-profit, I was helping evacuate over 25 Afghan families. A wife and mother I was assisting was killed in the Abbey Gate bombing, along with injuring two of her children. Another family of ten, who had worked with an American NGO for 15 years, was killed in a U.S. drone strike. The losses for Afghan families were as profound as those for the U.S. military.
A review by Central Command found no evidence of negligence by U.S. forces. It concluded that the Abbey Gate attack was not preventable without compromising the mission to evacuate as many people as possible. The suicide bomber could not have been identified beforehand, and leaders at Abbey Gate made sound tactical decisions given the circumstances.
During the recent debate, Vice President Kamala Harris underscored Trump’s role in sidelining the Afghan government in the Doha Agreement and rushing the withdrawal after losing the election, leaving Biden with limited options. Harris defended the decision to end America’s longest war, noting that it allowed the U.S. to shift focus to global threats like China and Russia.
General Kenneth McKenzie Jr., then-head of CENTCOM, testified before Congress, emphasizing how the rapid collapse of the Afghan government—largely unanticipated by intelligence assessments—severely complicated the withdrawal. Despite these challenges, U.S. service members conducted the largest air evacuation in history, rescuing over 120,000 people in two weeks.
The Biden administration’s after-action report, released in April 2023, provided a detailed account of the withdrawal. It acknowledged the evacuation’s challenges but stressed that the decision aligned with the broader strategic objective of refocusing U.S. military efforts on emerging global threats.
Trump’s rapid withdrawal order, issued after his election defeat, created additional complications for Biden’s team. Military leaders raised concerns about the risks, including the potential collapse of the Afghan government, before Biden took office. Had Trump’s withdrawal been fully executed, it could have led to even greater chaos, leaving U.S. forces and allies vulnerable.
As Vice President Harris said, ending America’s longest war and bringing our service members home was the right and courageous decision. It was not about politics; it was about people’s lives. Kamala Harris is fit to be our Commander-in-Chief, ready to defend our nation and interests from terrorists in Afghanistan and across the globe.
About the Author:
Lt. Gen. John Bradley retired after 41 years in the U.S. Air Force. He now is President and CEO of the Lamia Afghan Foundation.
John Gerlaugh
September 14, 2024 at 6:45 pm
General, thanks for this correct telling of the history behind the 2021 evacuation. My good friend and Afghanistan war buddy, LtCol Brad Whitehead USMC was the Battalion Commander of the 13 killed and was on site the entire time. His insights (tactical), my 6 tours in Afghanistan as an OSD-Policy officer (operational), the contents of the recently released congressional report on the debacle (strategic), plus the seven books I’ve read by people I respect (John Bolton, Jim Mattis, Liz Chaney, Guy Snodgrass, Peter Baker & Susan Glasser, Matthew Hill & Steven Hurst, and Steven Schier & Todd Eberly) have led me to the conclusion Trump was not and never could be the Commander and Chief in anything other than a hollow title. I pray to God for our deliverance from the awful fate that awaits us should be become president again. How can we be so blind? Best to you and Jan, John Gerlaugh – former Exec Dir of Team Afghan Power and Captain of United States Marines.