Milley, McKenzie Testify on A-Stan Debacle
Biden Foreign Policy
These military leaders advised Biden against withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan. What are they saying now?
Story by Payton Davis
Military leaders who advised President Joe Biden against the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan testified about it before Congress on Tuesday for the first time since their retirements.
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley and former U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie took questions from members of the House of Representatives at a hearing attended by family members of U.S. service members who died during the withdrawal.
Milley and McKenzie gave “dire” warnings of the consequences of leaving Afghanistan without better planning, and Biden ignored them, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said prior to questioning.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” he said. “And fail they did.”
The retired generals faced tough questions from members of the Foreign Affairs Committee on the withdrawal, what happened prior and who was culpable.
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During fallout from the withdrawal, Biden made statements that contradict Milley’s recounting of events, according to BBC. Biden said generals never advised him to leave 2,500 troops at the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan. Milley said he advised Biden “to maintain a stay behind force.”“The more I listen to this hearing, the more infuriated I get,” Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., said.
Looking back on the Afghanistan operation as a whole, Milley called it a “strategic failure.” He added the military did its job and what was asked of it.
Absolutely no surprises, and I eagerly await the response Joe’s Handlers come up with. This should be topic #2 during a Presidential Debate, which I also eagerly await.
Category: Afghanistan, Big Pentagon, We Remember
“This should be topic #2 during a Presidential Debate, which I also eagerly await.”
The debate will never happen as FJB could never get enough “uppers” in his system to hold it together for a one on one with DJT!
But it would be fun to watch him short circuit on live TV, while blurting out how he was told not to talk about whatever subject is being brought up.
And watching him descend into one of his bogus stories. He will undoubtedly have to claim Beau was killed in Iraq and it was Trump’s fault.
Or killed by Trump while serving in Iraq in the year 1953.
More like shot by a VC Guerilla with a Luger in Downtown Baghdad.
Died at Normandy while raising the flag on San Juan Hill with Carlos Hathcock?
You would hae to pry him out of his basement first.
Yeah, FJB was pretty amped up during his SOTU address.
Just sayin’. (Shoulda stuck to what you knew was the right thing, dude.)
Milley left out, “We were just following orders.”
We could put that as an epithet on all the tombstones of all the Afghani interpretors and their families we left behind over there.
Milley wasn’t in the chain of command- hadn’t been since he was FORSCOM CG and even then he was a force provider (a Title 10 MFer, as GEN Franks called them).
The Chairman’s role was strictly advisory in this case. Command Authority went from POTUS to SecDef to CENTCOM. CENTCOM would definitely have asked for more forces, which (I’m guessing without having read the testimony) SecDef and POTUS denied.
Remember how Shinsesi told Congress that it would take 250,000 troops to occupy Iraq and he was essentially fired by Rumsfeld who was busily taking troops off the TPFDL (he was personally reviewing every unit on the list and denying most of them. He issued so many memos the Joint and CENTCOM staff called the snowflakes- there were thousands and each one was unique and special).
“CENTCOM would definitely have asked for more forces,…”
Generals are just another species of politician/bureaucrat—they are always asking for more forces and money and predicting dire consequences if they do not get them.
…and in this case the General was right.
Regardless of the strategic decisions made in the past, the Biden administration set operational restraints that made the tactical mission far riskier than it could have been.
Yes, putting more troops on the ground for the NEO would have risked provoking the Taliban, but it also would have deterred them.
More forces to do what? The mission was to withdraw our forces.
“the Biden administration set operational restraints”
What restraints?
“it also would have deterred them.”
Sorry, but Horse Hockey. More forces hasn’t “deterred” them for 20 years, why then?
Yes, we all know that. I’m talking about the tactical operation to get the last few civilians and troops out, not the strategic decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. More forces on the ground during the withdrawal, not to stay and occupy the country. We should have withdrawn from Afghanistan after Anaconda.
I repeat, more forces to do what?
The whole concept of a withdrawal is to decrease the number of troops.
“2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan”
Has it been that long ago already?
Seems just yesterday that Russia got the Hell out.
OK, who’s turn is it next?
Hopefully the Chicoms, Afghanistan is well-known as “The Graveyard of Empires, just ask the Brits, French and Russkies!
Let’s see the Soviets withdrew in 1989. 3 years later there was no more Soviet Union. Isn’t that strange?
What a goat fucking, donkey ass raping, non taking responsibility, shit show.
And I’m not going to invoke the resident fucktard but you KNOW Mr -RedX# is going to show up shortly flapping his prolappsed anus.
“flapping his (her) prolapsed anus”.
BEAUTIFUL statement.
May I?
You know, I may have to add this to my OWN As(s)teroid of Insults®™(done)
As SGT Provo once said, “It sings!”
C’mon man, he gets paid by the amount of red thumbs he gets. I think the other day people were discussing how he qualified for a raw grilled cheese sandwich on stale wonder bread.
A haters gotta eat, ya know.
I’m stealing this for the As(s)teroid of Insults®™
Don’t forget the Velveta. Oh, wait that isn’t Gov’t cheese.
Current photo unavailable, stock image.
Homo Sovieticus-style human qualities encouraged by “woke” sh*t strike again:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_Sovieticus
What debate?
Just saving their asses from their own incompetence.
He should have come in dressed as a woman and then claimed sexual harassment.
There was never going to be an easy way out. But… this way was completely inexcusable.
I notice Milley didn’t resign after being ignored, he just became a rather more spineless yes man for the administration…
Mattis didn’t see eye to eye with his CinC and resigned…
If you don’t respect your own integrity, then you don’t have any.
“I notice Milley didn’t resign after being ignored, he just became a rather more
spineless yes manproficient cocksucker for the administration…”Corrected for accuracy.
Accuracy matters.
He has certainly earned his general officer kneepads.
Well touche, I stand corrected….appreciated.
He shouldn’t have kissed-up to folk who threw him under the bus with that Bob Woodward book as their thanks.
A goat in Helmand turns its horny eyes towards you Miley Vanilla.
Coo-coo ca-choo Mrs. Milley’s Son…
Jesus loves you as many others won’t…
Blame it on the rain….
Whatever you do, don’t put the blame on you…
As I like to say, “Jesus loves you but I and everyone else think you’re just another asshole”.
Yeahhhh I was hearing Simon & Garfarkle singing that post.
Reading through the comments, the replies almost matched the song.
Hey, we try…
The Afghan military would have been able to defeat the Taliban on the battlefield if only they had more Diversity Equity and Inclusion training like what the US military has been provided since January 2021.
And an American taxpayer-funded All-Points Logistics contract.
Somewhere in Afghanistan right now there is a guy trying to score a government contract with the Taliban by falsely claiming that he spent time in Gitmo.
Exposed on their This Ain’t the Great Satan website.
If only that had more! /sarc
IDGAF as to whose “fault” that whole debacle of the Affy War was…or who is to “blame”. The trillion $s of treasure and the thousands of American pissed away over there started with Bush II. Why do I not GAF about “fault” or “blame”? Because NO ONE will be held accountable and NO ONE will be punished for the (lack of) action.
I DO GAF about the 76 some odd thousand (as of Aug ’22) “refugees” (most of which are military aged males) that have been “resettled” across the USA. If only 10% are sleepers, that’s 7.6 thousand terrorists that can wreak havoc, spreading terror and discontent through out the land. There’s probably way yonder more than that. Prepare
Phuque Joe, phuque his perfumed princes, and especially phuque their lord and puppet master barry oblowme. PHUQUE ALL OF THEEEM!
I PRAY TO GOD to be wrong about this, but I think that the current administration WANTS another huge terrorist attack on US Soil because they drool and “cream their jeans” at the thought of how much more power over peoples’ lives they could call for and get afterwards.
Just my humble opinion, API, but I am the same. I don’t want to see it come, but Brother it’s coming, shore as God made them Little Green Apples. And, yes, TPTB do WANT multiple attacks, preferably attacks that will hit “Red States”, taking out the Patriots that are just sick and tired of the BS and giving them the excuse to declare martial law “for your safety”.
King George brought in his terrorist shock troops in the form of Hessians, Old Abe brought in multitudes of foreigners, courtesy of his pen pal Karl, to “put down the rebellion”, and now sniffy creepy prezzy joe, obeying the commands of his puppet lord and master barry, has flooded our country with literally MILLIONS of unvetted people that have NO loyalty to Americans, especially Americans have have a lighter skin tone.
The 2020 (s)election and then the draconian bat flu mandates prove that the Deep State will stop at nothing to maintain their grip on power and corruption.
Prepare
I know several people who are very well prepared.
But we owe it to our gallant Afghan allies! We just didn’t fight hard enough for their country, nor did we pay them enough to fight for their own country. We must now make amends by turning over our country to them.
Passing dozens of laws that restrict your every action unless you pay a fee and get a permission slip is also not about “making a better society” it’s about using you as the tax slave you are until there’s nothing left for you and only those elites and the political hack/lackeys are the haves while the entire nation becomes have nots…
Democrats are the aristocratic “Let the serfs eat cake!” elite our ancestors left Europe to avoid:
Looking forward to seeing the “under the bus” sound bites. The question is, who is wearing the bus drivers’ hat?
“Milley and McKenzie gave “dire” warnings of the consequences of leaving Afghanistan without better planning”
Too bad those military geniuses didn’t think of having their staffs actually make such a plan. Then again, they only had 20 years to do so.