Dozens of retired generals and admirals are demanding that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley resign over the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
'The retired Flag Officers signing this letter are calling for the resignation and retirement of the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) based on negligence in performing their duties primarily involving events surrounding the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan,' 90 retired top-ranking military officials wrote in an open letter released Monday.
They all proposed what they, as former U.S. military decision makers, felt should have happened in the withdrawal, including not rushing the withdrawal and not abandoning the Bagram Air Base.
More specifically, they said Milley and Austin should have advised Biden against the withdrawal.
'As principal military advisors to the CINC (Commander in Chief)/President, the SECDEF and CJCS should have recommended against this dangerous withdrawal in the strongest possible terms,' they wrote.
'If they did not do everything within their authority to stop the hasty withdrawal, they should resign,' the letter demands.
They also said that if Milley and Austin did advise against this, they should have resigned if Biden didn't take their direction to show their disapproval and to not have to carry out the mission that ended up with lives lost of 13 U.S. service members.
An open letter signed by 90 retired military generals and admirals calls for the resignation of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley over the botched Afghanistan withdrawal
The group said if Austin and Milley did advise Biden against the withdrawal – and he still went forward with it – they should have resigned in protest
'[I]f they did do everything within their ability to persuade the CINC/President to not hastily exit the country without ensuring the safety of our citizens and Afghans loyal to America, then they should have resigned in protest as a matter of conscience and public statement.'
In a ISIS-K suicide bombing near the Kabul airport on Thursday, 13 U.S. troops were killed.
Biden took responsibility for their deaths, claiming everything that has happened in the withdrawal has been his
