US Joint Chiefs Chairman: "Afghan Withdrawal Was a Strategic Failure"

Defense Minister: "Could Not Anticipate Sudden Fall of Afghanistan"

Mark Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The U.S. military command has stated that the withdrawal from Afghanistan was a "strategic failure" and admitted that they did not anticipate the rapid collapse of the Afghan military and government.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the 28th (local time) regarding the Afghanistan withdrawal, "We did not expect the Afghan military to collapse so quickly at all."

At the hearing, which was Austin's first appearance since the Afghanistan situation, he acknowledged, "The fact that the Afghan military was defeated without even properly fighting in some areas surprised all of us," adding, "It would be a lie to say otherwise."

Earlier, President Joe Biden had described the Afghanistan evacuation operation as a "remarkable success" in a speech on the 31st of last month. Republican lawmakers criticized this as excessive self-praise, and during the hearing, key U.S. military commanders faced intense questioning about the Afghanistan withdrawal.

When Republican Senator Dan Sullivan asked, "Can you call what happened in Afghanistan in August a 'remarkable success'?" Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, who attended the hearing, responded, "It was an operational success but a strategic failure."

He also stated, "The Taliban remains a terrorist organization," and "They have not severed ties with al-Qaeda, which carried out the 9/11 attacks."

Chairman Milley said that his personal opinion was that at least 2,500 U.S. troops should have remained in Afghanistan to prevent the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban's takeover. He added that Central Command Commander Kenneth McKenzie, who was present, shared the same view.

Milley said that the military staff's consensus to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan was reached on August 25. He also mentioned that if U.S. troops had remained in Afghanistan in September, a war with the Taliban might have ensued.

This statement contradicts President Biden's remarks in an interview with ABC last month, where he said he did not recall anyone in the military suggesting that some troops should remain in Afghanistan.

Republican Senator Jonny Ernst criticized President Biden's unconditional withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying it "ignored the sacrifices of the United States" and called it a "humiliating incident that should never have happened."

Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense (center)
[Image source=Reuters News Agency]

Chairman Milley further warned that al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) affiliate in Afghanistan could be rebuilt under Taliban rule and pose a terrorist threat to the United States within a maximum of 36 months, calling it "a very realistic possibility."

Regarding the impact of the Afghanistan withdrawal on the trust of U.S. allies, Milley acknowledged that it could be described as "damage."

This hearing marked the first time Secretary Austin and Chairman Milley attended a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing since the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki explained at a briefing that "if the U.S. had left 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, a war with the Taliban would have occurred," and denied any disagreement between President Biden and the military staff.

She added, "The military command raised various perspectives regarding the Afghanistan withdrawal."