National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan Reportedly Offered to Resign After Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal
According to the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan offered to resign from President Biden’s administration after the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Ignatius spoke to Sullivan and several of his colleagues as the Biden administration nears its end. Several of Sullivan’s colleagues reportedly told Ignatius that Sullivan offered to resign, and President Biden insisted the national security adviser stay on.
The Afghanistan withdrawal, which claimed the lives of more than a dozen American service members and led to the Taliban retaking control of the war-torn nation, “broke the early comity” of the Biden administration’s national security team, according to Ignatius. The withdrawal created a rift between Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Sullivan said, “You cannot end a war like Afghanistan, where you’ve built up dependencies and pathologies, without the end being complex and challenging. The choice was: Leave, and it would not be easy, or stay forever. Leaving Kabul freed the [United States] to deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in ways that might have been impossible if we had stayed.”
Sullivan initially shared the Pentagon’s concerns about the withdrawal, but set out to “loyally” uphold Biden’s plan to completely withdraw. The Pentagon had argued in favor of leaving a residual force of 2,500 in Kabul, but Sullivan chose to follow through with Biden’s plan.
The White House and the National Security Council did not immediately return requests for comment. Sullivan evaluated his performance towards the end of the interview, stating that under his leadership, the United States’ alliances had strengthened, its enemies had weakened, and the country had kept out of war, among other achievements.
