Eurasia Press & News
BLAMING BIDEN, ‘TOO SLOW AND TOO LATE’: The two generals have testified before, both in public hearings and in private classified briefings, about what went wrong in the summer of 2021 as they tried to execute a plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan that they had both strongly recommended against.
Retired Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, former commander of the U.S. Central Command, and retired Gen. Mark Milley, former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, out of uniform and sporting gray hair and dark suits, were still constrained from revealing their conversations with President Joe Biden but made clear they believed then, and still believe now, that abandoning Afghanistan, and in particular the way the withdrawal was carried out, was a mistake that had deadly consequences.
While there were dozens of decisions that led up to the debacle at the Abbey Gate of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, where on Aug. 26, 2021, an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 13 American service members and 170 Afghans, McKenzie placed much of the blame for the chaos on Biden’s decision not to evacuate American diplomats and civilians, along with Afghan allies, at the same time U.S. troops were leaving.
“I believe that the events of mid- and late August of 2021 were the direct result of delaying the initiation of the NEO [noncombatant evacuation operation] for several months, in fact, until we were in extremis and the Taliban had overrun the country,” McKenzie told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “The decision to begin an NEO rests with the Department of State, not the Department of Defense. We had begun positioning forces in the region as early as 9 July, but we could do nothing, nothing to commence the operation, the evacuation until the NEO was declared.”
Milley agreed, calling the plan to keep the U.S. Embassy in Kabul open in a war zone, protected by just 600 troops, “untenable.”
“The fundamental mistake, fundamental flaw was the timing of the State Department’s call,” Milley said. “I think that was too slow and too late.”
MILLEY: ‘WE BLINDED OURSELVES’: Milley cited “a lot of other mistakes that were made along the way,” including misjudgments that traced back the decision of former President Donald Trump to sign a bilateral withdrawal deal with the Taliban that sapped the morale of Afghan fighting forces and sowed the seeds that led to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government forces.
The “peace” deal did little but provide cover for the U.S. and coalition troops to leave under the promise that the Taliban would hold their fire. The agreement, which was made without the participation of the Afghan government, was supposed to provide for a period of de-escalation and eventual ceasefire, followed by sincere negotiations for a peace agreement. Instead, the Taliban stepped up attacks against dispirited Afghan forces and began making surrender deals with individual commanders.
U.S. intelligence had concluded it was likely the Afghan government would fall to the Taliban but gave a timeline that ranged from a few months after the U.S. left to as long as two years. But Milley said that as the U.S. cut its troop levels from 13,000 to 8,600 in 2020 under the agreement, it lost its eyes and ears on the ground and was not fully aware of how the Doha Agreement had “pulled the rug out” from the Afghan forces.
“We blinded ourselves,” he said. “My assessment at the time was if we went to zero on U.S. military forces, then there was a high likelihood of a collapse of the government of Afghanistan. … But I personally thought it was going to be in the fall, somewhere around Thanksgiving.”
Milley said the Pentagon also knew that the 350,000 Afghan troops, trained and equipped by the U.S., were not adequate to stand up to the Taliban, given that 175,000 were actually police, unsuited for combat. “The straw that broke the camel’s back,” Milley testified, was the decision of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee, which he contrasted with the bravery of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Zelensky stays and his military stays in Kyiv, and they are fighting tooth and nail,” Milley said. “In this particular case, President Ghani and his entire Cabinet, less one, got on airplanes and took off out of the country.”
But ultimately, Milley concluded, the collapse of the government and the fall of Kabul is directly tied to Biden’s decision not to keep the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, which would have meant NATO troops and thousands of contractors would have stayed, too. “Without this support, it was my view at the time that it was a matter of when, not if, the Afghan government would collapse and the Taliban would take control.”
THE ABBEY GATE ATTACK: Milley and McKenzie both came under fire for having failed to contact or talk to Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who lost an arm and a leg in the suicide bomb attack and who testified last March he had spotted a person matching the description of the expected suicide bomber in the crowd at the airport gate but was never cleared to take him out.
Both retired generals said it would have been improper to meet with Vargas-Andrews while the incident was under investigation and they were still in uniform, but both expressed a desire to meet with him now.
“It was a tragic event, one of many that have occurred over a 20-year engagement in Afghanistan. It remains my opinion that if there is culpability in this attack, it lies in policy decisions that created the environment of August 2021 in Kabul,” McKenzie said in his opening statement. “Culpability and responsibility do not lie with the troops on the ground who perform magnificently. It does not lie with a platoon, company, or battalion commanders or the flag officers who oversaw operations on the ground in Kabul.”
“I was the overall commander, and I and I alone bear full military responsibility for what happened at Abbey Gate,” McKenzie said. “The simple fact is this: On the battlefield, even with good planning, tremendous execution by brave people on the ground, the enemy sometimes has success. To ignore this fact is to ignore the fundamental reality of the battlefield.”
“We did not rely on the Taliban for our security. We use them as one tool among many to beef up our defensive posture. We avoided a number of potential Abbey Gate attacks,” he said. “This is a small comfort to those who lost loved ones, and I realize this. Nonetheless, what’s remarkable about Kabul is not that the tragedy of Abbey Gate happened but that many other attacks did not happen.”
Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Stacey Dec. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE
NOTE TO READERS: Daily on Defense goes on spring break from April 1 to April 15. While we’re away, you can still find breaking defense news on the Washington Examiner’s national security and defense page.
HAPPENING TODAY: The House Armed Services Committee will hear this morning from Adm. John Aquilino, commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander, U.S. Forces Korea, U.N. Command, and Combined Forces Command; and Ely Ratner, assistant defense secretary for the Indo-Pacific Region, for an update on “U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in the Indo-Pacific Region.”
One topic sure to come up is the “wish list” of unfunded priorities requested by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which totals $11 billion over what the White House has requested for next year. Much of the money would be used for missiles and missile defenses on Guam.
The Indo-Pacific Command submitted a “detailed, nine-page, $11 billion wish list that includes 44 priority areas,” according to Breaking Defense. “The majority of those funds are directed towards regional military construction projects ($3.3 billion) and buying new weapons ($2.7 billion).”
Then this afternoon the focus is on “U.S. Special Operations Forces and Command,” with testimony from Christopher Maier, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, and Army Gen. Bryan Fenton, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command.
MILLEY: NO US EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND: In yesterday’s Afghanistan hearing, former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley made a point of disputing an oft-repeated claim that the U.S. left billions of dollars worth of American equipment behind, making a distinction between U.S.-owned equipment and American-made equipment that was the property of the Afghan government.
“Every piece of American equipment that the American military owned came out with us … or was destroyed on sight, and that’s a fact,” Milley said. Milley said it would have been “impossible and impractical” to “police up” equipment that had been sold or given to the Afghan government.
Asked at one point why the U.S. didn’t disable the U.S.-made weapons and equipment, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie replied, “Because they were using it,” adding that everything left behind at the Kabul airport was rendered useless.
DEFENSE BUDGET CLEARED FOR PASSAGE: House and Senate negotiators have agreed on full-year appropriations bills for the Pentagon and five other agencies with just barely enough time to avert another shutdown at the end of the week.
“An agreement has been reached for DHS appropriations, which will allow completion of the FY24 appropriations process. House and Senate committees have begun drafting bill text to be prepared for release and consideration by the full House and Senate as soon as possible,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a two-sentence statement.
“We now have a bipartisan agreement for Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education, the Legislative Branch, and State and Foreign Ops,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a separate statement.
“Senate and House Appropriators are now working swiftly to turn this agreement into legislative text as soon as possible, so members can review, finalize, and ultimately take a vote in the coming days. Once the House sends us a funding package, I will put it on the floor of the Senate without delay,” Schumer said. “If both parties proceed in the same manner we did two weeks ago — quickly, constructively, and without unnecessary partisan dithering — then I am hopeful we can finish the appropriations process without causing a lapse in government services.”
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Milley and McKenzie testimony exposes rift between Defense and State departments over Afghanistan
Washington Examiner: Milley confirms he got piece of paper ordering full withdrawal from Afghanistan during final Trump days
Washington Examiner: Former CENTCOM commander McKenzie accepts responsibility for Afghanistan airport attack
Washington Examiner: Lloyd Austin praises allies for continued Ukraine support as Congress stalls on aid package
Washington Examiner: Netanyahu ‘determined’ to enter Rafah despite US pushback
Washington Examiner: Putin tells FSB intelligence agents to hunt down ‘traitors’
Washington Examiner: China fumes after ambassador outlines US advantages in competition
Washington Examiner: Texas immigration law greenlighted by Supreme Court sparks cheers and chaos concerns
Washington Examiner: Mexico says it won’t accept immigrants back to its territory from Texas ‘under any circumstances’
Washington Examiner: Trump-backed Moreno defeats ‘Old Guard’ rival in bitter Ohio Senate race
Washington Examiner: Biden backs funding bill to avoid shutdown: ‘I will sign it immediately’
Washington Examiner: Speaker Johnson inches closer to getting GOP reinforcement with Ohio House race
Washington Examiner: DeSantis threatens to send Haitians who arrive in Florida to Martha’s Vineyard
Washington Examiner: Opinion: As the Havana Syndrome scandal rumbles on, Nikolai Patrushev must be laughing
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Biden’s ‘goodbye Guam’ defense budget
Wall Street Journal: Ukraine’s Impossible Choice: Conceding Territory or Lives
New York Times: Austin Commends Allies For Support Of Ukraine
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Ukraine’s Survival ‘In Danger’ if West Fails to Help, Austin Says
Defense News: With Pause In U.S. Aid, Ukraine’s Allies Rally To Ponder What’s Next
CNN: Russia Confirms Naval Chief Replaced After Black Sea Failures
Reuters: Houthis Say Fuel Tanker In The Red Sea Targeted With Missiles
New York Times: Ignoring U.S., Netanyahu Upholds Plan To Invade Rafah
Bloomberg: Blinken Returns To Mideast With U.S.-Israel Tensions High
Air & Space Forces Magazine: ARRW Hypersonic Missile Tested for Final Time. But Is It Really the End?
The War Zone: AC-130 Gunship’s Laser Weapon Cancelled, 105mm Howitzer May Be Removed
Breaking Defense: Air Force RFI Targets Engine Options for NGAS Tankers
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Publishes Sweeping Analysis of Suicide Deaths in 2020
Space News: Pentagon’s Innovation Unit Steps Up Role in Space Force’s Responsive Launch Program
Air & Space Forces Magazine: SOCOM Cuts Armed Overwatch Buy from 75 to 62 Aircraft
Breaking Defense: US Defense Modernization Gets a ‘D’ Grade in New Report as Tech Roadblocks Persist
USNI News: Barracks, Quality Of Life Improvements Top Marine Unfunded Wish List
Military.com: VA Plans to Cut 10,000 Jobs This Year on Medical Side of the House
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Tom Stafford—Test Pilot, Gemini and Apollo Astronaut—Dies at 93
Stars and Stripes: Oklahoma-Based Air Force Unit Reports Death of Group Commander
Aviation Week: USAF Certifying F-117s To Receive Fuel From KC-46s This Month
The Unz Review: “Will the UK Recognize a Palestinian State?”
THE CALENDAR:
WEDNESDAY | MARCH 20
8 a.m. 14750 Conference Center Dr., Chantilly, Virginia — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Space Force IT Day forum: “Connecting to Win,” with Chief Master Sgt. Jacob Simmons, command senior enlisted leader, U.S. Space Command; Deputy Air Force Chief Information Officer Winston Beauchamp; Lisa Costa, chief technology and innovation officer at the Space Force; and Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert “Bob” Skinner, director and commander, Defense Information Systems Agency and Joint Force Headquarters https://afceanova.swoogo.com/SpaceForceITDay
8:30 a.m. 14th and F Sts. NW — Billington CyberSecurity State and Local CyberSecurity Summit with Army Maj. Gen. Joe Jarrard, director of operations at the National Guard Bureau; Brig. Gen. Teri Williams, vice director of operations (CYBER) at the National Guard Bureau; Steven Hernandez, chief information security officer and director of information assurance services Education Department; and Michael Geraghty, director, New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell https://billingtoncybersecurity.com/inaugural
8:30 a.m. — Wilson Center virtual discussion: “Completing the U.S. Strategic Rebalance,” focusing on the Indo-Pacific,” with Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), former U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives Robert Blake; former U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, the Philippines, and Ecuador Kristie Kennedy; and former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Mark Lippert https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/completing-us-strategic-rebalance
8:45 a.m. 850 16th St. NW — Ronald Reagan Institute Center for Peace Through Strength second annual National Security Innovation Base Summit, with Sen. Todd Young (R-IN); House Armed Services ranking member Adam Smith (D-WA); Gen. James Slife, Air Force vice chief of staff; Douglas Bush, assistant Army secretary for acquisition, logistics, and technology; Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ); Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of space operations; Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology; Rep. Robert Wittman (R-VA); Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering; and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks https://nsibsummitvirtual2024.rsvpify.com
9:30 a.m. 216 Hart — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “The Final Report, Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform Commission,” with testimony from former Defense Undersecretary (Comptroller) Robert Hale, chairman, Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform Commission; former Defense Undersecretary for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord, vice chairwoman, Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform Commission; and Laura Sayer, executive director, Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform Commission and former comptroller for the commander, Navy Installations Command and Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
10 a.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: “Asia Goes to the Polls: elections in Taiwan, South Korea and India,” with Richard Bush, Brookings nonresident senior fellow; Tanvi Madan, Brookings senior fellow; Thomas Pepinsky, Brookings nonresident senior fellow; Andrew Yeo, Brookings senior fellow; and Mireya Solis, Brookings senior fellow https://www.brookings.edu/events/asia-goes-to-the-polls
10 a.m. — Counter Extremism Project webinar: “Cruel And Unusual Punishment — How The Houthis Target Women, Journalists And Religious Minorities,” with Edmund Fitton-Brown, CEP senior adviser; Nura al Jarwi, president, Association for the Protection of Violated Women and Survivors of Houthi Prisons; and Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director, CEP Counter Extremism Project https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
10:30 a.m. 2362-A Rayburn — House Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing: “Oversight Hearing — Quality of Life in the Military,” with testimony from Army Sgt. Maj. Michael Weimer; Navy Master Chief Petty Officer James Honea; Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ruiz; Air Force Chief Master Sgt. David Flosi; and Space Force Chief Master Sgt. John Bentivenga http://appropriations.house.gov
10:30 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW — Stimson Center discussion: “The U.S.-Japan Alliance: From Peace and Prosperity in the Indo-Pacific to a Global Partnership,” with Derek Mitchell, former U.S. ambassador to Myanmar; Masami Oka, former vice minister of defense for international affairs; and Yuki Tatsumi, director, Stimson Japan Program https://www.stimson.org/event/the-us-japan-alliance
11 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Can Israel Win its War With Hamas?” with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Aaron David Miller, CEIP senior fellow https://carnegieendowment.org/2024/03/20/can-israel-win-its-war
11:45 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in the Indo-Pacific Region,” with testimony from Adm. John Aquilino, commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander, U.S. Forces Korea, U.N. Command, and Combined Forces Command; and Ely Ratner, assistant defense secretary for the Indo-Pacific Region https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
2 p.m. 222 Russell — Senate Armed Services Committee Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee hearing: “The state, Defense Department acquisition system,” with testimony TBA http://www.armed-services.senate.gov
3:30 p.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee hearing: “U.S. Special Operations Forces and Command — Challenges and Resource Priorities for Fiscal Year 2025,” with testimony from Christopher Maier, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, and Army Gen. Bryan Fenton, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/iso-hearing
4 p.m. 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American University School of International Service book discussion: Netanyahu vs The Generals: The Battle for Israel’s Future, with author Guy Ziv, associate professor at AU School of International Service http://www.american.edu/media
6:30 p.m. 14th and F Sts. NW — National Press Club film screening and discussion: “Anna, focusing on the life of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya,” with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA); former CIA Director John Brennan; actor Sean Penn; and Bob Woodward, Washington Post associate editor https://www.press.org/events/npc-headliners-screening-anna
THURSDAY | MARCH 21
7 a.m. 1700 Army Navy Dr., Arlington, Virginia — National Defense Industrial Association Senior Defense Leaders Forum with service representatives to review the fiscal 2025 Defense Department budget. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-3-21-ndia-dc-chapter
8 a.m. 3111 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church, Virginia — Potomac Officers Club Artificial Intelligence Summit, with William Streilein, chief technology officer at the Defense Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, and Kathleen Fisher, director, Defense Advanced Research Project Agency Information Innovation Office https://potomacofficersclub.com/events/poc-5th-annual-artificial-intelligence-summit/
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in the Greater Middle East and Africa,” with testimony from Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs; Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander, U.S. Central Command; Gen. Michael Langley, commander, U.S. Africa Command; and Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander, U.S. Forces Korea, Combined Forces Command, and U.N. Command https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
10 a.m. 210 Cannon — House Budget Committee hearing: “The President’s FY2025 Budget Request,” with testimony from Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young https://budget.house.gov
10 a.m. 2172 Rayburn — House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing: “Countering China on the World Stage: Empowering American Businesses and Denying Chinese Military Our Technology,” with testimony from Alan Estevez, commerce undersecretary for the Bureau of Industry and Security, and Jose Fernandez, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy, and the environment http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
12 p.m. — Washington Institute for Near East Policy virtual discussion: “The Islamic State Five Years Later: Persistent Threats, U.S. Options,” with Ian McCary, State Department deputy special envoy to the global coalition to defeat ISIS https://washingtoninstitute-org.zoom.us/webinar/register
12 p.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies lecture: “What Was Hamas Thinking?” with Tareq Baconi, president, board, Al Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network [email protected]
2 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: “State, Army,” with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George; Army Brig. Gen. David Gardner, commanding general, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson; and Army Brig. Gen. Curt Taylor, commanding general, National Training Center and Fort Irwin https://events.defenseone.com/state-of-defense
3:30 p.m. 2172 Rayburn — House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing: “FY2025 Strategic Forces Posture,” with testimony from John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy; Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander, U.S. Strategic Command; Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander, U.S. Space Command; Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command http://www.armedservices.house.gov
FRIDAY | MARCH 22
8:30 a.m. 3351 Fairfax Dr., Arlington, Virginia — National Defense Industrial Association Human Systems Conference with Patrick Mason, head, Office of Naval Research Warfighter Performance Department https://www.ndia.org/events
9 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee hearing: “The Technology and AI Fight for 21st Century Operations in the Department of Defense,” with testimony from John Sherman, DOD chief information officer; Craig Martell, DOD chief digital and artificial intelligence officer; and Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, director, Defense Information Systems Agency https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/citi-hearing
7 p.m. 1324 4th St. NE — Politics and Prose Bookstore book discussion: Collisions: The Origins of War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability, with author Michael Kimmage, professor of history at the Catholic University of America, and Linda Kinstler, executive editor, the Dial https://www.politics-prose.com/michael-kimmage
“The simple fact is this: On the battlefield, even with good planning, tremendous execution by brave people on the ground, the enemy sometimes has success. To ignore this fact is to ignore the fundamental reality of the battlefield. If there’s fault, it lies in a policy decision that placed the joint force in this situation and exposed the force over time to the possibility of these kinds of attacks.”
