The House Foreign Affairs Committee conducted a hearing on Tuesday to evaluate the disastrous withdrawal of the Biden Administration from Afghanistan by August 2021. They questioned retired Gen. Frank McKenzie (former CENTCOM commander) and retired Gen. Mark Milley (former Chair of the Joint Chiefs).
McKenzie’s opening statement decimated Biden, the State Department, and the military in the field. He said that the bombing of Abbey Gate and the terrible withdrawal were the result of policy decisions and not military failures on the ground.
See his entire opening remarks here.
Former U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie (Ret.) opening statement on U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan: “If there is culpability in this attack, it lies in policy decisions that created the environment of August 2021 in Kabul.” pic.twitter.com/7pUBNX243r
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 19, 2024
McKenzie honored those who died in Afghanistan and the Gold Star Families that were present in the room.
He began by explaining that while President Trump held office, plans were developed for the withdrawal of U.S. forces and a non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO), he called them “two distinct and different operations.”
McKenzie informed Trump of both plans on 3 June 2020. Trump chose a branch that would maintain 2,500 U.S. troops by 2021 inauguration day and complete withdrawal by 2021 May “if ordered to do so.”
He stated that on April 11, 2020, Biden gave the order for U.S. Military personnel to be withdrawn by September 11, 2020. This date was then changed to August 31, 2021. Biden’s plan did not include closing down the embassy or evacuating Americans and our allies even though they had a plan for it. He did not receive the order to evacuate Americans and our allies until August 14th.
McKenzie stated that the military withdrawal would be completed in large part by the middle of July 2021. He then took over the role of theater commander for Afghanistan.
I was then ordered to maintain a military platform consisting of 650 people solely to provide security to the U.S. embassy and Karzai Airport. During this time, with little to no support from us, Afghan security forces, and most importantly, the Afghan government, crumbled under the pressure of the Taliban. The 14th of August was the date that orders were given to begin the non-combatant operation. This included evacuating our embassy and our citizens as well as at-risk Afghans. These dates are crucial because I think that the events in mid-and late August 2021 were a direct result of delaying NEO by several months until… the Taliban had overrun a country.
He said that it is the State Department that initiates the NEO. However, he also stated that the military began positioning assets in the area while waiting for the State Department to decide that the time was right to start the NEO. Nearly 6,000 U.S. soldiers were eventually placed at Karzai International Airport to implement this NEO.
McKenzie spoke about what happened at Abbey Gate.
I remain convinced that the policy decisions that created the August 2021 environment in Kabul are responsible for this attack. The troops on the ground performed brilliantly, but they were not responsible for the attack. The responsibility does not rest with the battalion, company or platoon commanders, or flag officers that oversaw the operations in Kabul.
If anyone is to blame, it’s the policy decision that put the joint force into this situation. This exposed the force gradually to these types of attacks.
The two generals, when questioned more deeply, both agreed that the Biden State Department had done “far too little and far too late” to get Americans and allies out.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul has Gen. Milley & McKenzie affirm that the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal apparently lays at the feet of the Biden State Department and White House, rather than the military.
The hearing is ongoing.
. pic.twitter.com/DMnfEa3qEx— Paul Villarreal (AKA Vince Manfeld) (@AureliusStoic1) March 19, 2024
Milley stated that they had recommended that the Embassy leave at the same time the military left, as it would have been unsustainable to keep it after the military’s departure. They were ignored. He said that it was also clear to him that the withdrawal of forces and contractors would lead to the collapse of the Government. Biden went ahead with it.
Due to the Biden Administration’s failures in policy, thirteen brave young Americans died and many others were injured. Hundreds of Americans and thousands more allies were also left behind.
As House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Michael McCaul explained (R-TX), the worst thing is that Biden, and the administration, refuse to admit their failures. No one is accountable for this.
