U.S. review of Afghanistan withdrawal to be released in April

WASHINGTON — The results of the long-delayed government review of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will be released next month, the White House announced Wednesday, with Congress and the public set to see an assessment of what went wrong as America ended its longest war.

The August 2021 pullout of U.S. troops led to the swift collapse of the Afghan government and military, which the U.S. had supported for nearly two decades, and the return to power of the Taliban. In the aftermath, President Joe Biden directed that a broad review examine “every aspect of this from top to bottom.”

It was originally set to be released at the one-year anniversary of the withdrawal but was delayed while agencies continued their work.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that the work was nearly complete and that the administration was readying the release next month.

“We expect to be able to share those takeaways with the public by mid-April,” Kirby said. He said the administration would share classified sections of the report with congressional oversight committees.