Former President Donald Trump has sharply criticized President Joe Biden for not firing military generals following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021. Trump’s comments come amid ongoing debates and congressional hearings scrutinizing the decisions that led to the tumultuous end of America’s longest war.
During a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, top Pentagon officials, including Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, Commander of U.S. Central Command, testified about the withdrawal. Both generals expressed that they had advised both Trump and Biden to maintain a residual force of at least 2,500 troops in Afghanistan to prevent the collapse of Afghan forces and the government. However, their advice was not heeded.
Milley and McKenzie stated that the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops was a mistake, leading to the rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. They pointed to the Doha Agreement, a deal negotiated by the Trump administration with the Taliban in February 2020, as a significant factor that undermined the morale of Afghan security forces. The agreement stipulated a complete U.S. withdrawal by May 1, 2021, contingent on the Taliban meeting certain conditions, which they failed to do.
The generals also highlighted that the decision to set specific withdrawal dates without ensuring conditions were met was flawed. “Two presidents in a row put dates on it,” Milley said. “Don’t put dates on it. Make it conditions-based.”
During the hearing, Republican senators, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas, questioned why Milley did not resign if his advice was ignored. Milley responded that resigning would have been an act of political defiance and emphasized his commitment to civilian control of the military. He also cited the 13 service members killed in a terrorist attack at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport as a reason for his continued service.
The chaotic evacuation, which saw over 124,000 people airlifted from Kabul, has been a point of contention between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans have largely blamed Biden for the disorderly exit, while some Democrats have praised him for ending the two-decade-long war. However, there has been bipartisan criticism of the evacuation process, with concerns about the number of Americans and Afghan partners left behind.
In a separate hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Milley and McKenzie reiterated their stance that both the Trump and Biden administrations played roles in the disastrous withdrawal. They suggested that the entire 20-year conflict should be reviewed to understand the failures comprehensively.
Milley described the outcome as a “strategic failure” and acknowledged that the U.S. had built an army and a state in Afghanistan but failed to build a nation. He also noted that remaining in Afghanistan would have put American troops at risk, as the Taliban would have resumed their attacks.
The Biden administration has defended its actions, arguing that it was constrained by the conditions set by the Trump administration. A 12-page summary released by the National Security Council blamed Trump for the situation Biden inherited, stating that the Taliban were in their strongest military position since 2001 when Biden took office.
Trump, however, accused the Biden administration of spreading disinformation to distract from what he called their “grossly incompetent SURRENDER in Afghanistan.” He insisted that Biden was solely responsible for the chaotic withdrawal.
The National Security Council’s report also criticized overly optimistic intelligence assessments about the Afghan army’s willingness to fight and noted that Biden followed military commanders’ recommendations for the drawdown’s pacing. The report emphasized that the lessons learned from Afghanistan informed the administration’s handling of the Ukraine crisis, where early evacuations and intelligence sharing were prioritized.
Republicans in Congress have continued to criticize the withdrawal, focusing on the deaths of 13 service members in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport. Former Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who was wounded in the explosion, described the withdrawal as a “catastrophe” and criticized the lack of accountability.
Despite the criticisms, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby defended the U.S. forces’ actions during the evacuation, calling it the largest airborne evacuation of noncombatants in history. He acknowledged that ending the nation’s longest war was never going to be easy or low-cost.
The release of the NSC review has sparked further debates, with some lawmakers calling for more transparency and accountability. The State Department and House Republicans are currently in a standoff over classified documents related to the withdrawal.
As the discussions continue, the images of the chaotic fall of Kabul, including Afghans clinging to American planes and the devastation of the suicide bombing, remain vivid reminders of the withdrawal’s impact. The U.S. government’s special inspector general for Afghanistan has placed immediate blame on both the Trump and Biden administrations for the Afghan military’s collapse, citing the dependency on U.S. military forces and the decision to withdraw support.
The debate over the Afghanistan withdrawal is likely to persist, with both sides pointing fingers and calling for a thorough review of the decisions that led to the chaotic end of America’s longest war.
Source: AP, Reuters, Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing, House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing
