The FUBAR in Afghanistan is so large in scope and failure, the Pentagon appears to be throwing the White House under the bus; and they are being considerably obtuse while doing it…. or are they?
If these reports from Daily Mail and Wall Street Journal are accurate, the Pentagon is claiming that Joint Chief’s Chairman General Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Joe Biden about the pending collapse of Afghanistan if 2,500 troops were removed. However, both Milley and Austin are on record only a few weeks before the collapse saying exactly the opposite.
(Via Wall Street Journal) – In his Monday speech defending America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden said he would not shrink from his share of responsibility.
That would include his decision to bring home U.S. troops, which was made against the recommendations of his top military generals and many diplomats, who warned that a hasty withdrawal would undermine security in Afghanistan, several administration and defense officials said.
The president’s top generals, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, urged Mr. Biden to keep a force of about 2,500 troops, the size he inherited, while seeking a peace agreement between warring Afghan factions, to help maintain stability. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who previously served as a military commander in the region, said a full withdrawal wouldn’t provide any insurance against instability.
In a series of meetings leading up to his decision, military and intelligence officials told Mr. Biden that security was deteriorating in Afghanistan, and they expressed concerns both about the capabilities of the Afghan military and the Taliban’s likely ability to take over major Afghan cities.
Other advisers, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, raised the possibility of Taliban attacks on U.S. forces and diplomats as well as the Afghans who for two decades worked alongside them. (read more)
I’m not here to defend Joe Biden, not even close; I believe the man is inept, functionally and cognitively out of touch, and completely illegitimate. However, there’s more in the background context for these (and similar) articles.
The DC “conservative” media appear to be framing these articles to give the illusion of current conflict between the White House and the Pentagon, by conflating statements made long ago (before Biden made the withdrawal announcement in April), with recent positions. The actual statements of Mark Milley and Lloyd Austin to congress only a few weeks ago run directly counter to the claims in the articles. I would advise people not to take these articles by DC media at face value…. they too have an agenda.
Here are Milley and Austin speaking specifically to the situation in Afghanistan shortly before the crisis unfolded. {4 minutes, prompted}
Secretary Austin and General Milley did not hold the position that collapse of the Afghanistan government was likely, and did not claim that troops would be needed, and did not claim that Bagram AFB should be kept open. Their position, as demonstrably evident, was exactly the opposite.
So why is the Wall Street Journal trying to defend the Pentagon from the mess they created, and also throw Biden under the bus?
Joe Biden, General Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Austin are all equally to blame.
The Wall Street Journal appears to be defending the military industrial complex, by separating Biden from Milley and Austin.
Perhaps the DC media are counting on readers not doing their own research and not knowing the full background.
Sketchy.