President Joe Biden's fumbled withdrawal from Afghanistan was a propaganda gift to China, his Defense Department found Tuesday.
The DOD's claim came as part of its annual report to Congress on national security developments relating to China, which it released Tuesday. The report suggests that China capitalized on the withdrawal to convince world leaders that the U.S. is not a reliable ally.
"The PRC employed multiple diplomatic tools in an attempt to erode U.S. and partner influence," the report reads, including "highlighting the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan."
Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan was among the lowest points in his presidency, with 13 soldiers dying in a suicide bombing while protecting the Kabul airport during the evacuation.
Biden's DOD has focused on China as America's top global adversary throughout his time in office. The report says the PRC is working toward "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" by 2049 and is also vastly expanding its nuclear arsenal.
Biden defended his handling of the withdrawal both during and after the process, arguing there was no clean way to end U.S. deployment in the region.
He and other administration officials had argued that the process would be "safe and orderly" in the months leading up to the operation but it turned out to be both chaotic and deadly.
Americans and global allies were subjected to scenes of Afghans clinging to U.S. planes as they took off from the Kabul airport, with people plummeting to their deaths.
Biden had initially claimed that the U.S.-backed government in Kabul could stand against the Taliban for months or longer without U.S. support. That government fell before the U.S. withdrawal was even complete, however, and the final U.S. planes took off from Kabul while it was under Taliban control.
When the withdrawal was complete, at least 100 U.S. citizens and thousands of Afghan allies were stranded in the country under Taliban rule.
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