Trump initially gave the order to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by Jan. 15, Joint Chiefs Chair Milley confirms
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Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he had received an "unclassified signed order" from former President Donald Trump on Nov. 11, 2020 to withdraw all armed forces from Afghanistan by Jan. 15, confirming previous reporting on the matter.
The Military Times' Meghann Myers notes the order came two days after Trump fired former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was worried about such a move. Trump did eventually pull the order back after further discussions, Milley says. The Jan. 15 date is notable because it would have taken place five days before Trump was set to leave the White House, though at the time Milley says he gave the order, the presidential election results were still somewhat up in the air, at least from Trump's perspective.
General Mark Milley testifies that the Trump administration issued him an order on November 11, 2020, eight days after Trump lost the election, to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan before Trump leaves office. pic.twitter.com/IZRt28BZiS
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) September 28, 2021
Trump rescinded the order on Nov. 17, he says. One assumes because Milley and the acting SECDEF talked him down.
— Meghann Myers (@Meghann_MT) September 28, 2021
Milley also addressed the Trump administration's 2020 negotiations with the Taliban, which many critics argue helped set the stage for their rapid and successful offensive to retake Afghanistan this summer. He said the Taliban failed to honor nearly all of their commitments, including cutting ties with al Qaeda. Additionally, both Milley and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, agreed the deal negatively affected the morale and performance of the Afghan army.
!!! Quite remarkable to hear Milley and McKenzie slam the Doha agreement made by Trump w/ the Taliban.
McKenzie says the Doha agreement “did negatively affect the performance of the Afghan security forces.”
Milley agrees.— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) September 28, 2021
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