WASHINGTON (AP) The State Department failed to do enough planning before the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan, according to a Biden administration review of the departments performance during the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies.

The review repeatedly blames the administrations of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden for their efforts before and after the August 2021 departure of U.S. forces from Kabul. The U.S. evacuated an estimated 124,000 Afghans from the country.

Republicans have in turn accused Biden of not taking responsibility for intelligence failures leading up to the Talibans seizure of the country and for the scenes of chaos at Kabuls airport, where 13 U.S. troops and about 170 Afghans died in a suicide bombing.

Biden was defiant when asked Friday if he would admit the U.S. made mistakes before and during its withdrawal.

Remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said al-Qaida would not be there, Biden said. I said wed get help from the Taliban. Whats happening now? Whats going on? Read your press. I was right.

The U.S. in July 2022 killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri in a drone strike at his Kabul home, part of what the Biden administration calls an over the horizon capacity to target the group after the withdrawal. But a United Nations monitoring team reported in May that al-Qaida considers Afghanistan a safe haven and that the Taliban had not met previous commitments on counterterrorism.

Al-Qaida maintains a low profile, focusing on using the country as an ideological and logistical hub to mobilize and recruit new fighters while covertly rebuilding its external operations capability, the monitors said in their report.

According to Fridays report, a State Department task force helped bring out nearly 2,000 Afghan citizens in July and early August 2021, weeks before the Aug. 31, 2021, deadline the U.S. set for withdrawal. They were eligible for processing under a special U.S. visa program for Afghans.

But State failed to establish a broader task force as the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated, the report says.

And as the military planned for an evacuation of American civilians and Afghan allies, it was unclear who in the Department had the lead, it says.