Retired generals and other military veterans believe the Afghanistan withdrawal will have a lasting negative impact that could last “for decades.”
Retired Maj. Gen. Joe Arbuckle organized one public expression of this discontent. He told the Washington Examiner in a phone interview he wanted“accountability” because it is “one of the bedrock foundations of our military.” That’s why he believes Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley should resign.
“It’s to express our dissatisfaction with the way this has been handled and the catastrophic results that are coming from it,” he added, before noting the United States’s top priority should be making sure the Americans who were left behind can evacuate the country safely.
Arbuckle helped organize 88 retired generals and admirals to sign an open letter published by Flag Officers 4 America on Monday, coinciding with the U.S. final withdrawal from Afghanistan after the U.S. spent 20 years, billions of dollars, and thousands of lives.
‘HUNDREDS’ OF US CITIZENS LEFT BEHIND AS TROOPS LEAVE AFGHANISTAN
They argued that upon learning about President Joe Biden’s plan to close the Bagram Air Base, both Milley and Austin should have “recommended against this dangerous withdrawal in the strongest possible terms.” If the president went forward with it against their advice, they should have “resigned in protest as a matter of conscience and public statement.”
At the start of August, the U.S. anticipated a relatively safe and efficient withdrawal with the help of the Afghan forces, whom they trained and backed. However, the Afghan army was swiftly defeated during an 11-day military offensive by the Taliban.
U.S. and other Western allies then embarked on a two-week-long mission to evacuate as many at-risk foreign nationals and Afghan allies under the current Taliban regime.
When Biden decided to hold firm with the Aug. 31 withdrawal date, the senior military leaders “had a choice” to make, Arbuckle added.
“They could either salute and go try to execute the orders as best as they can,” or they could’ve resigned and told Biden, “I cannot in all good conscience follow that order because I understand the serious implications coming from it.”
“We need to make it clear that the ultimate decision making in anything that has to do with conflicts of warfare is the president of the United States,” he continued. “He decides … all matters regarding warfare. So it all comes back to the political side.”
U.S. military and coalition forces were able to facilitate the evacuation of 116,700 people, including 6,000 Americans. However, they left between 100 and 200 Americans behind. It will now be up to the State Department to secure their pathways forward.
One of the other signers was Rep. Ronny Jackson, a 25-year Navy veteran serving his first term in the House, who attached his name to the letter because he has “been deeply disappointed in the leadership at the Department of Defense.”
“Leadership that is in large part responsible for the crisis we have watched unfold in Afghanistan. Everyone who was a yes man for Biden and played a part in this incompetence needs to take responsibility and resign,” he told the Washington Examiner. “I am a firm believer that those in charge who are given the authority to make decisions should also accept responsibility for their actions when things don’t go as planned. I’m also thoroughly disgusted by the Biden administration’s attempt to spin what has been an unmitigated disaster as a win. Joe Biden is patting himself on the back and declaring victory as terrorists are parading around in U.S. military equipment and American citizens are trapped behind enemy lines. This administration is a disgrace.”
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They warned in the letter that “the consequences of this disaster are enormous and will reverberate for decades beginning with the safety of Americans and Afghans” left behind under Taliban rule. The retired commanders called the U.S. technology and weaponry that fell into Taliban hands “catastrophic.”
Gen. Frank McKenzie, U.S. CENTCOM commander, said the military left 70 MRAPs and 27 Humvees, both of which are military vehicles, and 73 aircraft inoperable. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the only things left in working condition were “a couple of fire trucks and some forklifts so that the airport itself can remain more operational going forward.”
Arbuckle and many members of the group, whose website says the group is made up of veterans who still feel “bound by that oath to do what we can, in our capacity today, to protect our nation from the threats to her freedom,” signed onto a letter in May promoting election conspiracies and questioning Biden’s mental acuity for the presidency.
