Afghanistan: the American military hierarchy tries to explain to Congress its “strategic failure” – archyde

There’s a lot going on in the US Congress at the same time. The Democratic Party is in turmoil over two major socio-economic bills promised by Joe Biden, on infrastructure and the welfare state. At the same time, hearings are continuing on the catastrophic military withdrawal from Afghanistan, completed a month ago. Tuesday September 28, the turn had come for senior military officials to deliver their version of a “Strategic failure” before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley and Central Command Chief General Kenneth McKenzie have been put to the test. Main lesson: the military hierarchy was in favor of maintaining a force of 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan, which however could not by itself prevent the progression of the Taliban and possible attacks against it. General McKenzie, who had even put forward the figure of 4,500 men in the fall of 2020, justified this analysis by the fear of a collapse of the Afghan forces, even if no one foresaw such a rapid process.

Asked on August 19 on the ABC channel about the Pentagon’s desire to keep 2,500 soldiers there, Joe Biden had nevertheless replied: ” No. As far as I can remember, no one told me that. “ Was the president then saying an untruth? Alaskan Republican Senator Dan Sullivan said Tuesday. “I will not qualify a statement by the President of the United States”General Milley replied cautiously. Asked about the temptation of a resignation, the high-ranking officer rejected this idea. “The president doesn’t have to agree with my advice. He doesn’t have to make these decisions just because we’re generals. “

At the White House on Tuesday, spokeswoman Jen Psaki pointed out that “The advice had been shared”, around the president, on the various withdrawal options, which Joe Biden had also said in the interview with ABC.

American shortcomings

The second nuance made during this hearing concerns the date on which the senior officers, unanimously, gave their support for a full military withdrawal to August 31: only six days earlier, when the Taliban had taken control. of the country since August 15. Here too, Robert Milley has distanced himself from the political choices made under Donald Trump, then Joe Biden. “My advice is: do not set a specific date”, he said of the military withdrawal, preferring an approach based on conditionality.

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