Biden's top Generals Milley and McKenzie blame the State Department for ... trends now
Two former top generals in charge of the 2021 U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan that left 13 service members dead said the orders to evacuate from Biden came too late to avoid disaster.
During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing assessing the Afghanistan withdrawal on Tuesday, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and former Commander U.S. Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie testified about the details surrounding the withdrawal.
The hearing serves as a platform for the now-retired military leaders to deliver an assessment of the withdrawal, which has been labeled a failure by some Democrats and nearly all Republicans.
In his opening remarks, Milley summarized the withdrawal and noted that the State Department's order to evacuate Americans came did not come fast enough.
'On 14th August the noncombatant evacuation operation decision was made by the Department of State and the US military alerted, mobilized and rapidly deployed faster than any military in the world would ever do,' Milley said.
'It is my assessment that that decision came too late.'
Former Gens. Mark Milley (L) and Kenneth McKenzie (R) testified that the State Department acted too slow in ordering the evacuation of Americans from Afghanistan
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley was the top military official at the time of the 2021 withdrawal
A helicopter displaying a Taliban flag flies above Taliban supporters gathered to celebrate the US withdrawal of all its troops out of Afghanistan
McKenzie agreed, saying he too believes the events of August 2021 were the result of delayed decisions that were the responsibility of the State Department.
'It remains my opinion that if there is culpability in this attack, it lies in policy decisions that created the environment.'
'Culpability and responsibility do not lie with the troops on the ground,' he added.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, was quick to return fire at the generals.
'Shameless of House GOP to use Afghanistan to play politics,' White House spokesman Ian Sams posted on X during the hearing. 'They want to distract from their own current failures.'
The top generals also took time to acknowledge the Gold Star families that were in attendance at the hearing, including Steve Nikoui, who was recently arrested for shouting 'Remember Abbey Gate' at Biden during his State of the Union.
'I am personally here today voluntarily to help the families of the fallen, the 13 fallen at Abbey Gate,' Milley said.
'We owe them answers and I am committed to assist in the effort to get them answers.'
Steve Nikoui, the Gold Star father of slain Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui who was killed in the Abbey Gate
