“Apologists claim that catastrophic withdrawal was inevitable. That’s absurd…Lawmakers asked in June why the Pentagon had not mobilized to protect Afghan allies. So why were our U.S.-owned air bases shut down before an evacuation was complete? Never have I witnessed a greater, swifter collapse of competence than what I have seen with the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan.” – Christina Sommers
During an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, Biden denied multiple media reports that alleged he “overruled” top military commanders.
“No, they didn’t. It was split. That wasn’t true,” Biden said of a report from the Wall Street Journal. When pressed by Stephanopoulos on whether he ignored their advice, Biden again said, “No.”
The WSJ reported in April that Biden ignored the advice of his military commanders when he authorized the full withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
From the WSJ:
In contrast to the numerous Trump policies he reversed, he opted to carry out Mr. Trump’s deal with the Taliban instead of trying to renegotiate it. In so doing, he overruled his top military commanders: Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East; Gen. Austin Scott Miller, who led NATO forces in Afghanistan; and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Citing the risks of removing American forces to Afghan security and the U.S. Embassy, they recommended that the U.S. keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan while stepping up diplomacy to try to cement a peace agreement.
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” host Chuck Todd asked Sullivan why the U.S. did not maintain a small presence in Afghanistan like top military commanders reportedly advised.
The question followed an earlier inquiry in which Todd asked why Bagram Air Base — a massive airbase in eastern Afghanistan — was closed before all American and Afghan allies were evacuated from Afghanistan. Sullivan told Todd the base was closed because military and national security advisers said the base could be shut down.
“So, you followed the military advice on closing Bagram. But the same military advisers were telling you to keep a force on the ground. They were — they told you not to pursue this withdrawal agreement with the Taliban, correct?” Todd asked.
Sullivan responded by explaining that decision — to fully withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan — ultimately rested on Biden’s shoulders, no matter what military commanders recommended.
Bottom line, Mr. Biden went ahead, over the pleas and against the advice of so many. The warnings came true. And because the administration provided no meaningful method for Americans and Afghans to leave, the chore has fallen to veterans and other civilians to try to save those who are desperately appealing for our help. Most have done it out of a sense of duty and moral obligation, and as a last-ditch effort to uphold the promises we made to our Afghan friends.
Mr. Ackerman is an author and former Marine who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
About the Author
THE WHITE HOUSE
Remarks by President Biden on the End of the War in Afghanistan
AUGUST 31, 2021
THE PRESIDENT: In April, I made the decision to end this war.
As part of that decision, we set the date of August 31st for American troops to withdraw.
The assumption was that more than 300,000 Afghan National Security Forces that we had trained over the past two decades and equipped would be a strong adversary in their civil wars with the Taliban.
That assumption — that the Afghan government would be able to hold on for a period of time beyond military drawdown — turned out not to be accurate.
But I still instructed our national security team to prepare for every eventuality — even that one.
And that’s what we did.
So, we were ready when the Afghan Security Forces — after two decades of fighting for their country and losing thousands of their own — did not hold on as long as anyone expected.
We were ready when they and the people of Afghanistan watched their own government collapse and their president flee amid the corruption and malfeasance, handing over the country to their enemy, the Taliban, and significantly increasing the risk to U.S. personnel and our Allies.
As a result, to safely extract American citizens before August 31st — as well as embassy personnel, Allies and partners, and those Afghans who had worked with us and fought alongside of us for 20 years — I had authorized 6,000 troops — American troops — to Kabul to help secure the airport.
As General McKenzie said, this is the way the mission was designed.
end quotes
That is now, this was then:
Full transcript from President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress on 28 April 2021:
And American leadership means ending the forever war in Afghanistan.
We have the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.
And I’m the first President in 40 years who knows what it means to have had a child serving in a warzone.
Today we have service members serving in the same war as their parents once did.
We have service members in Afghanistan who were not yet born on 9/11.
War in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multi—generational undertaking of nation—building.
We went to Afghanistan to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.
We delivered justice to Osama Bin Laden and we degraded the terrorist threat of al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
After 20 years of American valor and sacrifice, it’s time to bring our troops home.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Remarks by President Biden on the End of the War in Afghanistan
AUGUST 31, 2021
THE PRESIDENT: Let me be clear: Leaving August the 31st is not due to an arbitrary deadline; it was designed to save American lives.
And by the time I came to office, the Taliban was in its strongest military position since 2001, controlling or contesting nearly half of the country.
The decision to end the military airlift operations at Kabul airport was based on the unanimous recommendation of my civilian and military advisors — the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all the service chiefs, and the commanders in the field.
Their recommendation was that the safest way to secure the passage of the remaining Americans and others out of the country was not to continue with 6,000 troops on the ground in harm’s way in Kabul, but rather to get them out through non-military means.