The State Department released a report on June 29, 2023, that found that the department made a number of mistakes in the lead-up to and during the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The report, which was conducted by Afghanistan After Action Review team, found that the State Department failed to adequately plan for the evacuation of American citizens and Afghan allies, did not have enough staff or resources in place to evacuate people quickly, and did not communicate effectively with other government agencies involved in the evacuation.
The report also found that the State Department’s performance during the evacuation was hampered by a number of factors, including the chaotic and dangerous conditions in Kabul, the Taliban’s rapid advance on the city, and the limited number of flights available to evacuate people.
Despite these challenges, the State Department was able to evacuate an estimated 125,000 people from Afghanistan, including nearly 6,000 private U.S. citizens. The report’s authors praised the work of the State Department employees who worked tirelessly to evacuate people from Afghanistan, and they said that their work “deserves our highest praise and gratitude.”
The report also made a number of recommendations for how the State Department can improve its preparedness for future crises. These recommendations include:
- Developing a more comprehensive plan for evacuating American citizens and Afghan allies.
- Increasing the number of staff and resources dedicated to evacuation planning.
- Improving communication with other government agencies involved in evacuations.
The Afghanistan After Action Review is a valuable resource for the State Department as it works to improve its preparedness for future crises. The report’s findings and recommendations will help the State Department to better understand the challenges of evacuating people from a dangerous and chaotic environment, and they will help the State Department to develop more effective plans for future evacuations.
The report’s findings have been met with mixed reactions. Some have praised the report for its thoroughness and its recommendations, while others have criticized the report for not being more critical of the State Department’s performance.
The report’s release comes at a time when the Biden administration is facing increasing scrutiny over its handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The administration has been accused of being too slow to react to the Taliban’s advance on Kabul, and of not doing enough to evacuate American citizens and Afghan allies.
The report’s findings are likely to add to the pressure on the Biden administration to improve its handling of future crises. The administration will need to take the report’s recommendations seriously if it wants to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
Afghanistan After Action Review team did a thorough investigation into the events leading up to and during the evacuation of Afghanistan. They interviewed current and former Department of State employees from all ranks and levels, and they read relevant documents.
Over the course of its 90-day review, the AAR team conducted more than 150 interviews with
current and former State Department officials at all levels of the organization and reviewed
relevant documents and other materials. The interviews were conducted on a voluntary basis and
either for attribution or background. In order to protect the integrity of this process and in
anticipation of future after-action reviews, the AAR team strongly recommends that the requests of
those interviewed – either to be fully anonymous or to not be named in the report – be fully
respected. With the same considerations in mind, the current report does not directly cite the
interviews or actions of individual Department personnel below senior-level officials.
Additionally, when we refer to “evacuation” in the report, we are doing so in a non-legal,
colloquial manner
The team’s report found that the State Department made a number of mistakes in the lead-up to the collapse of the Afghan government. These mistakes included:
- Failing to adequately plan for the evacuation of American citizens and Afghan allies.
- Not having enough staff or resources in place to evacuate people quickly.
- Not communicating effectively with other government agencies involved in the evacuation.
The report also found that the State Department’s performance during the evacuation was hampered by a number of factors, including:
- The chaotic and dangerous conditions in Kabul.
- The Taliban’s rapid advance on the city.
- The limited number of flights available to evacuate people.
Despite these challenges, the State Department was able to evacuate an estimated 125,000 people from Afghanistan, including nearly 6,000 private U.S. citizens. The report’s authors praised the work of the State Department employees who worked tirelessly to evacuate people from Afghanistan, and they said that their work “deserves our highest praise and gratitude.”
The report also made a number of recommendations for how the State Department can improve its preparedness for future crises. These recommendations include:
- Developing a more comprehensive plan for evacuating American citizens and Afghan allies.
- Increasing the number of staff and resources dedicated to evacuation planning.
- Improving communication with other government agencies involved in evacuations.
The Afghanistan After Action Review is a valuable resource for the State Department as it works to improve its preparedness for future crises. The report’s findings and recommendations will help the State Department to better understand the challenges of evacuating people from a dangerous and chaotic environment, and they will help the State Department to develop more effective plans for future evacuations.
