Top US military officials advised keeping troops in Afghanistan, warned Biden against withdrawal
Top military officials of the us , while testifying before a high-level Senate committee on Tuesday, revealed that that they had recommended US president Joe Biden to stay some 2,500 American troops standing by on the bottom in Afghanistan and also expressed concerns over the very fact that the Taliban had not completely severed its ties with the al Qaeda terror outfit. the event comes after White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden had received “split” advice from top-level leaders on what to try to to with things in Afghanistan, which the us invaded 20 years ago after the al Qaeda conducted the 9/11 attacks in ny and Washington.
General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff of Staff; General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the US Central Command; and defense secretary Lloyd Austin were grilled for nearly six hours by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and therefore the chaotic evacuation from Kabul airport.
General Milley and General McKenzie testified before the Senate committee that that they had personally recommended some 2,500 troops remain on the bottom in Afghanistan.
Milley also claimed that the United States’ withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan amid the Taliban offensive had ‘damaged’ American credibility.
“I think our credibility with allies and partners round the world and with adversaries is being intensely reviewed by them to ascertain which way this is often getting to go and that i think ‘damage’ is one word that would be used, yes,” he said, adding that the Taliban “was and remains a terrorist organisation and that they still haven’t broken ties with the al Qaeda,” which plotted the 9/11 , 2001 attacks from Afghanistan.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Taliban can consolidate power or if the country will fracture into further war ,” he said. “But we must still protect the American people from terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan.”
US president Joe Biden had in April ordered an entire pullout folks forces from the war-torn land of Afghanistan by August 31, making the choice to finish a 20-year-war. Although he was following through with an agreement reached with the Taliban by former president Donald Trump, Biden was heavily criticised for the choice back home. A national poll conducted soon after the Taliban takeover of Kabul showed that Biden approval ratings as president, which fell to 43 per cent, were at an rock bottom . the bulk of usa citizens disapproved of the way Biden handled policy , while an outsized section of the populace also termed the United States’ role in Afghanistan a “failure”.