“The top U.S. military officer called the 20-year war in Afghanistan a ‘strategic failure’ and told Congress on Tuesday that he believes the U.S. should have kept several thousand troops in the country to prevent the unexpectedly rapid takeover by the Taliban.” AP News
Both sides note that the generals’ statements are inconsistent with President Biden’s earlier statements:
“Generals Milley and McKenzie said that they advised the Biden administration that unless the US kept 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, the Afghan military would collapse. They also said that the ground commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin ‘Scott’ Miller, provided the same advice. This clearly contradicts what President Biden told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos last month -- that the US military didn't advise him to keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan…
“Even the most senior US generals couldn't defend the debacle that has unfolded in Afghanistan during the past several weeks, a disaster owned by President Biden, even if it was teed up by President Trump's ill-fated ‘peace’ negotiations with the Taliban that culminated in the Doha agreement.”
Peter Bergen, CNN
“Biden’s under no obligation to take [the generals’] advice. They answer to him, not vice versa. But he made a provocative claim to Stephanopoulos when he said that the advice to him on withdrawal was ‘split’ and so now we’re entitled to ask for details. If it was ‘split,’ who was on the pro-withdrawal side? Was there some other top military advisor making the case for a pullout by September 11 or was that just a voice in Biden’s head? Or, more likely, was it a lie he told Stephanopoulos in lieu of admitting that he ignored the advice of his commanders and ordered what proved to be a calamitous bugout?…
“[White House Press Secretary Jen] Psaki was asked about it today and conveniently refused to give details. Instead she retreated into the argument that 3,000 to 4,500 troops was an impossible number since it imagined a status quo that didn’t exist. If the U.S. had ignored the May 1 withdrawal deadline, the Taliban would have attacked and Biden would have needed to send reinforcements — a troop build-up. Again, though, if that’s his position, he’s entitled to hold it without falsely claiming that the advice to him was ‘split’ in order to give his own preference a patina of military sanction.”
Allahpundit, Hot Air
Other opinions below.
“Gen. Kenneth McKenzie admitted that it will be difficult for the U.S. to target terrorists in Afghanistan. McKenzie said that the U.S. retains ‘the right to go after ISIS and al Qaeda targets as they present themselves. We've been very clear on that.’ But the four-star general continued, ‘That's not going to be easy, and we'll talk a little bit more about that in the closed session. It will not be easy to do that. It will be possible to do that.’…
“McKenzie's statement begs the question as to why he was so optimistic a month ago when he announced the final withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. On Aug. 30, McKenzie optimistically claimed that the U.S. would ‘always retain the ability to [target terrorists in Afghanistan effectively].’ That rhetoric supported the White House talking point that withdrawing from Afghanistan wouldn't degrade U.S. counterterrorism interests in any significant manner. It was always delusional.”
Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner
“The scandal isn’t that the President ignored military advice—he’s the decision-maker. It’s his refusal to own his decision. Mr. Biden wants political credit for ending America’s involvement in Afghanistan, but he’s not willing to take the political risk of admitting he overruled the brass in the process.”
Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
“All the predictable questions were asked. All the answers were predictable as well. They amounted to a concerted effort to cover for President Biden’s disastrous decision-making with every possible excuse. Every effort was made to shift the blame to the Afghans, the previous administration, or others—though surprisingly they didn’t go back to blaming Adam, Eve and the serpent for abandoning Americans, our allies and equipment and leaving behind the foundations for the next 9/11…
“What was most interesting about the stylized ritual of the Washington blame game on the Hill was what wasn’t said. None of the officials testifying were willing to detail the full scope of the military advice given to the president…
“In part this reflects the tension of how American civil-military relations are structured to work. On the one hand, it is difficult for a president and his military advisors to have an open and frank exchange of views, if Monday-morning quarterbacks get to pick apart these discussions after the fact. On the other, the Pentagon leadership also needs to be frank and honest with the Congress, as the body exercises its oversight of the armed forces… [But] It is hard to walk away from this hearing thinking [these generals] are serving us well.”
James Jay Carafano, Fox News
“Milley described to senators what he always believed would flow from a precipitous withdrawal of American troops… One by one, Milley's list of terrible things began to come true, far faster than anyone – including Milley – predicted… However this sad chapter about American involvement in Afghanistan stains Biden's legacy now and forever, one thing is certain: The president can't say he wasn't warned.”
Gregg Zoroya, USA Today
“[Defense Secretary Lloyd] Austin had sought forlornly to widen the focus from the last few weeks of the US presence in Afghanistan to the preceding two decades and warned: ‘We need to consider some uncomfortable truths.’ ‘Did we have the right strategy? Did we have too many strategies?’ he asked. So much faith had been put in nation-building that the sudden collapse of the army and the government, and the panicked flight of President Ashraf Ghani ‘took us all by surprise.’ ‘It would be dishonest to claim otherwise,’ Austin said…
“One of his lessons, [Milley] said, was not to give the enemy a fixed date for your departure as the Doha deal had done, but base it on a set of conditions. Another of Milley’s conclusions was ‘don’t Americanise the war’ and don’t try to build another country’s army as the mirror image of US forces. But as Milley himself conceded, these were lessons that were supposed to have been learned in Vietnam…
“The deeper question – never likely to be answered, or even asked, in the bearpit of Congress – is why the US has suffered from such recurrent amnesia each time it has gone off to war.”
Julian Borger, The Guardian
“Watching this poignant encounter between the Pentagon and Congress, perhaps we could all appreciate, for once, the blessings of our open democratic system. Some countries suffer for decades from the shame of a lost war. Their militaries seethe in silent rage; politicians invent conspiracy theories to explain failure; the suppressed mistakes of the last war prefigure the next one…
“But here it was, in public, an open discussion of a war that failed in slow motion over two decades — with two parties, four presidents and a dozen commanders all playing a role in the final outcome. Republicans nagged about the past nine months of President Biden’s tenure, while Democrats focused on earlier mistakes, but the anguish seemed bipartisan. The generals knew the right answer was ‘all of the above.’ And the fact that they were willing to own their part of the failure was cause for hope that at last there really will be ‘lessons learned’ from Afghanistan.”
David Ignatius, Washington Post
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