Former Vice President Mike Pence said in an interview Sunday he believes former President Donald Trump would have kept a “couple thousand American forces” in Afghanistan despite striking a deal with the Taliban.
The U.S. State Department released a report Friday faulting both the presidential administrations of Donald Trump and Joe Biden for the botched withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021. The rushed departure subsequently led to the Taliban’s reclaimation of power and the death of thirteen U.S. service members.
The department’s “After Action Review” report stated the Trump administration had an “insufficient senior level consideration of worst case scenarios,” listed Trump’s desire to end a military presence and alleged there was “no plan or effort to help at risk Afghans” nor a plan on “how to keep diplomats in Kabul after withdrawal.”
Pence told CBS anchor Margaret Brennan he does not believe the Trump administration bears any responsibility for the debacle.