Senators Question Milley and Austin on End of War in Afghanistan

Nearly a period aft the last American troops departed Afghanistan successful a hasty evacuation, the Pentagon’s apical brass appeared earlier lawmakers connected Tuesday greeting to look crisp questions from lawmakers astir the military’s relation astatine the extremity of the nation’s longest war.

The proceeding was besides the archetypal accidental for lawmakers to question Gen. Mark A. Milley, the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, astir his actions during the past tumultuous months of the Trump administration.

“My loyalty to this nation, its people, and the Constitution hasn’t changed and volition ne'er alteration arsenic agelong arsenic I person a enactment to give,” General Milley said successful his opening remarks. “I firmly judge successful civilian power of the subject arsenic a bedrock rule indispensable to this republic and I americium committed to ensuring the subject stays wide of home politics.”

General Milley utilized portion of his opening comments to code the turmoil of caller revelations successful the publication “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. He said helium made an Oct. 30 telephone to his Chinese counterpart, conscionable earlier the November statesmanlike elections, due to the fact that determination was “intelligence which caused america to judge the Chinese were disquieted astir an onslaught connected them by the United States.” He added that elder U.S. officials, including Mark Esper, the caput of defence astatine the time, and Mike Pompeo, past the caput of state, were alert of the calls.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and General Milley were besides asked astir their proposal earlier successful the twelvemonth to President Biden not to retreat each U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., who is besides connected the witnesser sheet and who is the caput of the military’s Central Command, which oversees Afghanistan, offered the aforesaid proposal to the president.

“We tin sermon and statement the decisions, the policies and the turning points since April of this twelvemonth erstwhile the president made wide his intent to extremity American engagement successful this war,” Mr. Austin said successful his opening remarks. “And we tin statement the decisions implicit 20 years that led america to this point. But I cognize that you hold with maine that 1 happening not unfastened to statement is the courageousness and the compassion of our work members.”

Mr. Austin defended the Biden administration’s determination to adjacent the sprawling Bagram Air Base, the military’s main hub successful Afghanistan, successful aboriginal July and alternatively absorption connected defending Kabul’s planetary airdrome arsenic the main gateway successful and retired of the country, and acknowledged that the Pentagon severely misjudged the Afghan military’s volition to fight.

“Retaining Bagram would person required putting arsenic galore arsenic 5,000 U.S. troops successful harm’s way, conscionable to run and support it,” Mr. Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee successful the archetypal of 2 days of legislature hearings connected Afghanistan. “And it would person contributed small to the ngo that we had been assigned: that was to support and support our embassy immoderate 30 miles away.”

Mr. Austin, a erstwhile four-star Army wide who served successful Afghanistan, conceded that the illness of the Afghan service successful the last weeks of the warfare — successful galore cases without firing a changeable — took apical commanders by surprise.

As Mr. Austin enactment it: “We request to see immoderate uncomfortable truths: that we did not afloat comprehend the extent of corruption and mediocre enactment successful their elder ranks, that we didn’t grasp the damaging effect of predominant and unexplained rotations by President Ghani of his commanders, that we did not expect the snowball effect caused by the deals that the Taliban commanders struck with section leaders.”

Understand the Taliban Takeover successful Afghanistan

“We failed to afloat grasp that determination was lone truthful overmuch for which — and for whom — galore of the Afghan forces would fight,” Mr. Austin said.

The caput besides defended the administration’s determination to extremity the frantic 17-day evacuation airlift by Aug. 31. “The Taliban made wide that their practice would extremity connected the archetypal of September, and arsenic you know, we faced sedate and increasing threats from ISIS-K,” Mr. Austin said, referring to the Islamic State subdivision successful Afghanistan. “Staying longer than we did would person made it adjacent much unsafe for our radical and would not person importantly changed the fig of evacuees we could get out.”

In the archetypal of back-to-back Senate and House hearings this week, General Milley is besides expected to beryllium asked wherefore helium declared a U.S. drone onslaught successful Kabul past period “a righteous strike” adjacent aft subject officials said they were investigating reports of civilian casualties. The Pentagon acknowledged a week aboriginal that the onslaught was a tragic mistake, sidesplitting 10 people, including 7 children. General Milley tacitly conceded that helium spoke excessively soon, calling the mistake “heart-wrenching.”

Tuesday’s proceeding earlier the Senate Armed Services Committee is nominally astir the frantic evacuation from Kabul and the Pentagon’s strategy to combat violent groups determination from agelong distances. But lawmakers from some parties are expected to usage the infinitesimal to rise different topics successful what is expected to beryllium a rancorous partisan donnybrook.