Former CIA senior officer and MSNBC guest Marc Polymeropoulos said Monday that President Joe Biden is denying the “facts on the ground” about the Afghanistan withdrawal amid reports placing blame on the administration for the disastrous pullout.
A State Department report released Friday concluded that both the Biden and Trump administrations contributed to the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. Investigators said the State Department’s operation “was hindered by the fact that it was unclear who in the Department had the lead.” The report found the Biden administration failed to mobilize and position the necessary personnel to conduct a smooth evacuation, citing in part the lack of experienced senior leadership and coordination.
Biden was asked following the release of the report whether he was willing to admit that mistakes were made during the withdrawal.
“There was a report on Afghanistan withdrawal, saying there was failure, mistakes,” a reporter asked Biden. “Do you admit there was mistakes during the withdrawal and before?”
“No, no,” Biden said. “All the evidence is coming back. Do you remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said al-Qaeda would not be there, I said it wouldn’t be there. I said we’d get help from the Taliban. What’s happening now? What’s going on? Read your press. I was right.”
“Joe Biden defending his position there,” host Katty Kay said. “But you know, you look at the situation in Afghanistan, Marc, and it kind of, it stretches plausibility to say that mistakes weren’t made at some point during that evacuation process.” (RELATED: Heartbreaking Account Of Biden’s Chaotic Afghan Evacuation)
“I think those comments, I would, I would, I would hope that he would want to take that back. The idea that somehow al Qaeda is gone from Afghanistan and that the Taliban is a solid counterterrorism partner, I mean, that defies a lot of the facts on the ground. But, and it’s almost this kind of reflexive defensiveness that occurs with the administration,” Polymeropoulos said, before arguing that the report was more critical of senior intelligence officials rather than the Biden Administration.
“I will say that putting it out on a Friday afternoon before the July 4 holiday didn’t send the right signal,” Polymeropoulos added.