According To The Generals, Biden Has Been Recommended To Keep 2,500 Troops In Afghanistan.
Key Sentence:Two high-ranking US generals have announced that they will leave their 2,500-strong force in Afghanistan in August before the US pulls out entirely.General Mark Millie and General Frank Mackenzie's testimony in Congress contradict President Joe Biden, who said he could not remember such
Mr. Biden should not give such comprehensive guarantees.
Key Sentence:
- Two high-ranking US generals have announced that they will leave their 2,500-strong force in Afghanistan in August before the US pulls out entirely.
General Mark Millie and General Frank Mackenzie's testimony in Congress contradict President Joe Biden, who said he could not remember such advice. The Taliban took power in August after advancing rapidly across the country. General Millie said the United States was shocked by the speed at which the Afghan government was falling apart.
The two US generals and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin were interviewed by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
The trial comes weeks after chaos at Kabul's airport as foreign troops tried to bring their citizens home and appealed to thousands of desperate Afghans for help. A suicide attack killed 182 people during the withdrawal operation. On August 26, 13 US troops and at least 169 Afghans died at the airport gate.
Keep troops on the ground.
General Mackenzie, who oversaw the withdrawal from Afghanistan as head of US Central Command, said at the request of Republican senators that he recommended keeping a small force of 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. This appears to contradict President Joe Biden's statement to an ABC journalist on August 19 that he has no recollection of anyone giving him such advice.
General Millie said he agreed with the recommendation, but Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan asked if Biden's comments were "wrong," he declined to respond directly.
"The president appreciates the open advice of the ... commander-in-chief and the military," he said. "That doesn't mean he always agrees." If troops remained in the country after the August deadline, the US would now be at war with the Taliban. Box analyzer from Anthony Zürcher, a reporter from North America
Mark Millie, Lloyd Austin, and Kenneth Mackenzie may have testified in Congress, but Joe Biden's remarks did the most damage to the President on Tuesday.
Republicans have beaten the President over recent comments that the generals contradict each other, explicitly or indirectly.
In an August interview, Biden insisted that none of the generals had urged him to keep some US troops in Afghanistan to prevent a Taliban takeover. However, General Millie and General Mackenzie said they thought these troops were needed, and at one point, the latter said he had told the President so much.
Republican senators also wondered why Biden had promised to hold back the military until all US citizens were evacuated, with Americans still in Afghanistan weeks after the last drawdown. In the end, the two generals stated that al-Qaeda was still in Afghanistan - a stark contrast to Biden's earlier statement that the terrorist organization had been eradicated.
All of this gives Republicans ammunition to accuse the President of lying to the American people.
He was considering military advice, but he stuck to his decision to retire. Then, like many politicians before him, he set off. Tuesday's hearing began with the unveiling of Mr. Austin's testimony, followed by General Millie, who said it was now more difficult to defend America from terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.
"The Taliban was and will remain a terrorist organization and has not cut ties with al-Qaeda," he said. A re-established Al-Qaeda or ISIL (Islamic State Group) trying to attack the United States is a genuine possibility, and the conditions for engagement in this uncontrolled area could emerge within the next 12-36 months."
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