Afghanistan withdrawal errors came despite military concerns
By Leo Shane III
Mar 19, 03:58 PM
Retired Gen. Mark Milley, left, and retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, speak to the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley on Tuesday reiterated concerns that political decisions made outside the Defense Department led to the chaos and violence of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, but also emphasized that no single mistake can be blamed for the failures.
“The outcome in Afghanistan was the result of many decisions from many years of war,” the retired Army general told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Like any complex phenomena, there was no single causal factor that determined the outcome.”
Milley and former Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr., head of U.S. Central Command at the time of the withdrawal, appeared before the panel as part of ongoing congressional investigations related to the final days of the withdrawal, which included the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of civilians after a suicide bombing at the Kabul International Airport.
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2024/03/19/afghanistan-withdrawal-errors-came-despite-military-concerns/?bingParse
