Former top commander blames chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal on Biden’s delay in ordering full evacuation

The two generals have testified before, both in public hearings and in private classified briefings, about what went wrong in the summer of 2021 as they tried to execute a plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan that they had both strongly recommended against.

“The fundamental mistake, fundamental flaw was the timing of the State Department’s call,” Milley said. “I think that was too slow and too late.” “We blinded ourselves,” he said. “My assessment at the time was if we went to zero on U.S. military forces, then there was a high likelihood of a collapse of the government of Afghanistan. … But I personally thought it was going to be in the fall, somewhere around Thanksgiving.”

“It was a tragic event, one of many that have occurred over a 20-year engagement in Afghanistan. It remains my opinion that if there is culpability in this attack, it lies in policy decisions that created the environment of August 2021 in Kabul,” McKenzie said in his opening statement. “Culpability and responsibility do not lie with the troops on the ground who perform magnificently.

. “The majority of those funds are directed towards regional military construction projects and buying new weapons .”made a point of disputing an oft-repeated claim that the U.S. left billions of dollars worth of American equipment behind, making a distinction between U.S.-owned equipment and American-made equipment that was the property of the Afghan government.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Mark Milley and former CENTCOM commander to face grilling in Congress over Biden's Afghanistan withdrawalGen. Mark Milley will testify before Congress on Tuesday for the first time since retiring, offering new insight on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »

Former CENTCOM commander McKenzie accepts responsibility for Afghanistan airport attackFormer U.S. Central Command leader Frank McKenzie accepted responsibility for the Afghanistan airport attack that killed 13 servicemembers in 2021.
Source: dcexaminer - 🏆 6. / 94 Read more »

Former U.S. Commander criticizes late decision on Afghanistan evacuationFormer U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie (Ret.) argued that the decision to authorize a non-combatant evacuation during the final days of the U.S. war in Afghanistan came too late during testimony in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »

Former San Ramon Valley High School student accuses former teacher of sexual abuseA former student at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville is accusing her former theatre arts teacher of grooming her and sexually abusing her more than a decade ago.
Source: KPIXtv - 🏆 443. / 53 Read more »

Former Seahawks player Chad Wheeler sentenced for beating former girlfriendLast year, Wheeler was found guilty of two counts of domestic violence assault.
Source: KIRO7Seattle - 🏆 271. / 63 Read more »

Jaguars making moves: Team adds former Bills center, WR Gabe Davis along with former Packers safetyThe Jaguars continued to make moves before the start of free agency on Wednesday, notably on its beleaguered offensive line.
Source: wjxt4 - 🏆 246. / 63 Read more »