Rep. Matt Gaetz didn’t exactly throw the book at Gen. Mark Milley during Wednesday’s Capitol hearing on Afghanistan, but he waved it at him as he excoriated the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman for his fondness of speaking to reporters.
The Florida Republican with a flair for the dramatic began his questioning of Milley, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, by reading an 18-month-old quote from Milley, saying: “We know we’re not going to defeat the Taliban militarily, and they’re not going to defeat the government of Afghanistan militarily.”
Gaetz contended: “You really blew that call, didn’t you?”
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A frequent topic during Wednesday’s hearing in front of the House Armed Services Committee was Milley’s willingness to speak to various reporters with book deals, which led to explosive reporting regarding Milley and former President Donald Trump.
Gaetz accused Milley of having “spent more time with Bob Woodward on this book than you spent analyzing the very likely prospect that the Afghanistan government was going to fall immediately to the Taliban” while brandishing a copy of Woodward and Robert Costa’s new book Peril. Milley responded, “Not even close.”
Gaetz also asked Milley about President Joe Biden’s conversation with former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in which he urged the Afghan leader to “project a different picture” than that of a failing war effort against the Taliban, “whether it is true or not.”
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“Gen. Milley, you gave up the game earlier when you said you wanted to address elements of your personal conduct in question,” Gaetz said. “We’re not questioning your personal conduct. We’re questioning, in your official capacity, going and undermining the chain of command, which is what you did.” Milley pushed back on the accusation.
Gaetz also turned his attention to Austin, saying, “It seems like you’re chronically bad at this, and you have admitted that.” He later accused both of them of being “very happy failing up over there.”
He concluded: “If we didn’t have a president that was so addled, you all would be fired — because that is what you deserve.”
BREAKING: Rep. Matt Gaetz SLAMS Woke Generals Mark Milley, Lloyd Austin, and Kenneth McKenzie for Their Total Failure as the Leaders of the Armed Forces
“If we didn’t have a president that was so addled, you all would be fired. Because that is what you deserve.” pic.twitter.com/09CSv3k5Rv
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) September 29, 2021
