It’s a well-known fact that when the White House has the power to manage the release of information, they strategically choose to drop damaging stories just before the weekend in the hopes that they will go unnoticed. And when it comes to the most damaging stories, they often opt to release them on holiday weekends. The botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 was undoubtedly a turning point for the Biden administration because it sent Biden’s approval ratings underwater, and they have yet to recover. And the White House chose Easter weekend to release the report on it.
The report laughably absolves Biden and his administration for the chaotic and deadly withdrawal that left thousands of Americans stranded in the now Taliban-controlled Afghanistan—but that didn’t stop the White House from trying to bury it in a holiday weekend news dump.
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy called out the White House for trying to hide it.
The White House apparently didn’t think Karine Jean-Pierre was up to the task of speaking on this issue, so during the briefing, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby took charge.
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Kirby, “Who’s going to get fired over this?”
“The purpose of the document that we’re putting out today is to sort of collate the chief reviews and findings of the agencies that did after-action reviews,” Kirby responded. “The purpose of it is not accountability. It’s to study lessons learned.”
Of course, why would the Biden White House want to hold anyone accountable?
Related: The Morning Briefing: Blood On Biden’s Hands From Afghanistan Withdrawal Can’t Be Washed Away
Doocy then pressed Kirby on the issue of accountability, saying, “Military leaders were giving advice. It doesn’t sound like it was good.” Kirby responded by suggesting again that the report was to understand lessons learned, not assign blame or hold individuals accountable.
Doocy continued to question Kirby on the accuracy of intelligence reports provided to the president before the withdrawal. Kirby acknowledged that there were inaccuracies in the intelligence reports but added, “Intelligence is hard business, and they get it right a lot too. This document and this effort isn’t about accountability today. It’s about understanding.”
Throughout the exchange, Kirby kept referring to the withdrawal from Afghanistan in the broader sense, effectively ignoring how it was executed.
“But it doesn’t seem like after the country has had a couple months to review this, and as the government has, people don’t have an issue with the decision to order troops out of Afghanistan,” Doocy pointed out. “It is with the way that this president ordered it done. There were children being killed. There were people hanging off of Air Force jets that were leaving. And you’re saying that you guys are proud of the way that this mission was conducted?”
Kirby responded, “Proud of the fact that we got more than 124,000 people safely out of Afghanistan? You bet.”
So, not only is the White House choosing not to hold anyone accountable, they seem to hope that their report goes unnoticed. Well, so much for that. It’s the perfect metaphor for Biden’s presidency.
