Page 723 - Commanders News Today

Difficult and dangerous circumstances so i want to be perfectly clear, the frustration on this committee about the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from afghanistan is not and should never be directed towards our troops. it was president biden and his advisors who put them in that situation. even worse, this was avoidable. everything that happened was foreseen. my colleagues on this committee and on the commanders in charge, we saw it coming so we were here today to understand what happened and why...

>> as i said, senator manchin in my opening comment >> i was conducting a meeting and not able to be here. im sorry. >> there have been 4 presidents, 20 commanders on the ground. 7 or 8 chairmen of the joint chiefs, dozens of secretaries of defense, etc. and outcomes like this are not determined in the last five days or the last 20 days or the last year. outcomes in a war like this, an outcome that is a strategic failure, the enemy is in charge in kabul, there is no way else to describe that. th...

Troops had arrived including elements of the 82nd airborne. lets be clear, those first two days were difficult. we all watched with alarm the images of afghans rushing the runway and our aircraft. we all remember the scenes of confusion outside all remember confusion outside the airport. within 48 hours, our troops restored order and process began to take hold. our soldiers, airmen, and marines, in partnership with our allies and partners and our state department colleagues secured the gates, to...

They touched on a lot of the important points. i thought also was very interesting to hear general milley talk about the credibility issue. talking about the idea that u.s. credibility is now under, i believe it was intense review with foes and allies. making a nod to the fact that this isnt just about what america thinks of what happened, but what the whole world thinks about what happened and how that impacts peoples impressions of america across the globe. >> interesting. general wesley clark...

Scott miller, the last u.s. commandner afghanistan made to it president biden. >> all of the parties had an opportunity to provide input and that input was received. >> the white house press secretary jen psaki attempted to clarify. >> we made clear, secretary austin said, if he stayed there at a force posture of 2,500, certainly youd be in a fight with the taliban and youd have to reinforce. so what should everybody take from that? there was a range of viewpoints. >> psaki went on to say the pr...

No accountability. you gentlemen have spent your lives -- and i completely respect it -- troops in combat, you have been in combat and had troops under your command killed in action and you have been part of an institution where accountability is so critical and the american people respect that up and down the chain where there are instances commanders get relieved. up and down the chain we see it. the mccain incident, fitzgerald incident. aav incident with the marine car. 3 star and 4 star offi...

Ill just say for most of my experience when i was in afghanistan the input that i got from our commanders was that this year would be different. well be able to do things better but i got a completely different assessment when i went to the mess hall and ate with the shoulders and marines and folks on the ground who said i dont trust these folks were with. i dont know if theyll fight. they dont show up. they get their paycheck but they dont show up. now there may have been instances where they p...

In my opening comment -- >> im sorry, i was conducting an er meeting. i wasnt able to attend that. >> theres been four presidents, 20 commanders on the ground, seven or eight chairmen of the joint chief and dozens of secretaries of defense, et cetera, and outcomes like there are not determined in, you know, the last five days, the last 20 days or the last year for that matter. outcomes in a war like this, an outcome that is a strategic failure, the enemy is in charge in kabul. theres no way else...

General, has always stressed that commanders on the ground should be listened to. would you agree with that? >> i would and i would tell you they were listened to. i think there is a difference between us having an opportunity to have a voice and i think its very important that the military has a voice. but i firmly believe in -- were required to give our best military advice but the decision makers are not required in any manner, shape or form to follow that advice. >> i agree with you about ci...

2021. he felt that afghan forces would not hold up long without our support. seems to me there would have been a process to convey general millers recommendation to the president. can you share the process and who conveyed general millers recommendation? and was that recommendation delivered to both president trump at the time and also to president biden? >> there is a process for delivering recommendations from commanders in the field. i was part of that process. while i have been very clear th...