Page 724 - Commanders News Today

Those first two days were difficult. we all watched with alarm the images of afghans rushing the runway and our aircraft. we remember the scenes of confusion outside the airport. but 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, took control of airport operations, and set up a processing system for the tens and thousands of people they ...

Withdrawal without meeting specific and necessary conditions, risks losing the substantial gains made in afghanistan, damaging u.s. worldwide credibility, and could precip tatd a general collapse of the afghan government resulting in a complete taliban takeover or general civil war. that was a year ago. my assessment remained consistent throughout. based on my advice, the advice of the commanders, then secretary of defense esper submitted a memorandum on 9 november recommending to maintain u.s. ...

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 advisers who put them in that situation. even worse, this was avoidable. everything that happened was foreseen by colleagues on this committee and on the commanders in charge. we saw it coming and so we were here -- here today to understand what happened and why that advice was ignored. general mckenzie, ...

Interview to the american people, the president said that none of his military advisers told him that he should keep u.s. forces in afghanistan. general milley, that was a false statement by the president of the united states, was it not? >> i didnt even see the statement, to tell you the truth. >> im reading you a truthful statement. >> um -- >> that was a false statement. >> im not -- look -- >> i dont have a lot of time. was that a false statement? >> im not going to characterize a statement ...

Overestimation that i think the overly optimistic assessment. even as late as july youre still encouraging the afghan special forces. youre expecting the ghani government to remain, but that was not the case. in december of 2019 "the washington post" reported that the u.s. military commanders privately expressed a lack of confidence that the afghan army and police could ever fend off much less defeat the taliban on their own. so general milley, you noted that there were some specific military le...

Uncomfortable truths. that we didnt fully comprehend the depth of corruption and poor leadership in the senior ranks. that we didnt grasp the damaging effect of frequent and unexplained rotations by president ghani of his commanders. that we didnt anticipate the snowball effect caused by the deals that the taliban commander struck with local leaders in the wake of doha agreement. and that the doha agreement itself had a demoralizing effect on afghan soldiers. and finally, that we failed to grasp...

Another 3,000 or so ground 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 the airport. but 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 in our state department colleagues secured the gates, took ...

General millers recommendation to the president. can you share the process and who conveyed general millers rm dags? 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 ive been clear i wont give you my recommendation, ive given you my view, which you can draw your own conclusions from. and my view is that 2,500 was an appropriate...

>> i would say this committee has always stressed that commanders on the ground should be listened to. would you agree with that? >> i would and i would tell you that they were listened to. i think theres 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 the military and i am required and the military commanders are required to give our best military advice. but the decision makers are not required ...

On august 18th, the president said that none of his military advisors told him that he should keep u.s. forces in afghanistan. general milley, that was a false statement by the president of the united states, was it not? >> i didnt even see the statement to tell you the truth. >> im reading you a truthful statement. that was a false statement? >> im not -- look -- >> i dont have a lot of time. was that a false statement? >> im not going to categorize the statement of a president of the united st...