Donald Trump is causing consternation again, and it didn’t all originate from the speech he gave Saturday evening in Texas. On Sunday, Trump made the short trip from Conroe to Houston, appearing at a conference hosted by his son, Don Jr.
During his remarks, the former president blistered Gen. Mark Milley, describing him with a colorful expletive while describing the disconnect that occurred when withdrawing from Afghanistan.
There will be people who don’t like the language used here, and I can understand that, but when he’s right, he’s right. Milley has shown himself to be completely inept as a military leader. The way in which the withdrawal-turned-evacuation from Afghanistan transpired was a tragedy and largely avoidable. In a rush to give Joe Biden a political win, Milley and others accepted a plan of action that was destined to fail. Ultimately, it cost the lives of 13 American servicemembers and countless Afghan civilians.
When Trump mentioned $60 million in airplanes, I assume he meant the newly acquired A-29 Super Tucano, close-air-support aircraft that ultimately fell into the hands of the Taliban. Or maybe he meant the Black Hawk helicopters or ScanEagle drones? While some fact-checker will probably rush to quibble over the details, the former president’s point remains the same: Allowing such weaponry to fall into the hands of a terrorist government was insane.
Milley had the chance to be what he’s always claimed to be, which is a principled defender of what’s right. Instead, the moment Joe Biden took office, he became openly partisan, seeking to ingratiate himself to the new White House. Milley spun wild tales about preventing a coup, and admitted to possibly intending to commit treason in regards to China. All to own the orange man, of course.
Yet, when the mainstream media interviews stopped and the real world came calling, Milley folded to the inane demands of the Biden administration. He didn’t resign in protest the way he no doubt would have done under Trump, had he been asked to do what ultimately happened in Afghanistan. Instead, Milley went to the microphone and gaslit the nation, refusing to even take any responsibility for what happened.
So yeah, Trump used some naughty words in levying his criticism, but he’s dead-on about Milley. U.S. military leadership is rotten from the top down. Politics have taken priority over preparedness, and the results speak for themselves. Worse, there is no accountability at all. Until that changes, the U.S. will continue to be highly vulnerable and diminished on the world stage.