Published on March 20, 2024, 12:49 am

The Biden administration has been pointedly successful in mitigating the visible extent of the many missteps and lapses in judgment surrounding the chaotic U.S. forces withdrawal from Afghanistan in September 2021. The spotlight is soon to be on Gen. Kenneth McKenzie and Gen. Mark Milley, who were primarily responsible for this course of action, as they are due to reveal the chain of events leading up to the withdrawal.

General McKenzie was at the helm of U.S. Central Command while General Milley held his position as then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during this period. They are scheduled to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and it’s expected that Republicans will seek to align President Biden as closely as possible with the disarray that characterized the withdrawal, which left numerous Americans stranded overseas.

However, we anticipate Democrats countering by focusing on former President Trump’s engagement in a deal with the Taliban – a decision which enforced an American troops withdrawal that Biden argues cornered him into action. Importantly though, both Generals Milley and McKenzie, along with other joint chiefs personnel had advised against a total pullout from Afghanistan during 2021 – advice which Biden chose not to heed.

Primary areas of questioning will revolve around decisions such as closing Bagram Air Base, which forced our forces to depend on Taliban security protocols at Kabul International Airport; leaving behind substantial military assets costing approximately $7 billion; and managing subsequent terror threats without sufficient security measures in place – exemplified through horrendous incidents like the ISIS suicide bombing that unfortunately claimed 13 service members’ lives.

Also significant is Gen. Milley’s predicted revelation regarding decisions around shuttering U.S operations within Afghanistan’s US embassy, viewed widely as a tipping point in this crisis situation during confidential briefings disclosed amidst numerous defense officials expressing deep concern over an apparent operational lackadaisical response from State Department officials despite clear indications of rapidly deteriorating security conditions.

While Democrats on the committee are expected to pivot towards justifying Biden’s decisions with his predecessor’s deals that led to the withdrawal, this doesn’t negate the fact that the withdrawal seemed uncoordinated and rushed. In hindsight, there was a potential for a more organized exit strategy. There’s also concern regarding how US intelligence seemingly underestimated the Taliban’s offensive which began in May 2021 across three provinces and didn’t view it as alarming despite Afghan government forces seeming unsustainable.

Subsequent events such as closing Bagram Air Base and seeing collapse of Afghanistan’s army, trained by US forces sealed Afghanistan’s fate. Regardless of Trump’s signed agreement with Taliban, air support could have been deployed in aid of Afghan military against advancing Taliban forces – but it was expressly forbidden by President Biden.
It’s undeniable that marginal improvements could have been made during negotiations but ultimately the disorder at Kabul airport wasn’t caused by deals made or broken. It seems rather to be linked directly to inept management within civilian command across White House and State Department officials which led sadly to loss of military lives under their watch and brought about an ignominious retreat from Afghanistan.

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