According to testimony given on Tuesday before a high-level Senate committee, top military officials from the United States revealed that they have advised the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to keep approximately 2,500 American troops on the ground in Afghanistan. They also expressed concern about the Taliban’s continued links with the al Qaeda terror organization. Earlier this week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated that President Joe Biden had received “split” advice from top-level leaders on how to deal with the situation in Afghanistan, which the United States invaded 20 years ago after terrorist attacks in New York and Washington were carried out by the al Qaeda terrorist network (al Qaeda).
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee interrogated General Mark Milley, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the United States Central Command, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for nearly six hours about the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and the chaotic evacuation from Kabul International Airport.
According to General Milley and General McKenzie, who both appeared before the Senate committee, they personally advised that about 2,500 soldiers stay on the ground in Afghanistan.
Milley also stated that the United States’ withdrawal of soldiers from Afghanistan in the midst of the Taliban assault had ‘hurt’ the country’s reputation internationally.
The Taliban “was and continues to be a terrorist organization, and they have not broken their ties with al Qaeda,” which plotted the September 11th attacks from Afghanistan, he said. “I believe our credibility with allies and partners around the world, as well as with adversaries, is being intensely reviewed by them to see which way this is going to go,” he said.
As part of the decision to bring an end to the 20-year war in Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden ordered a full withdrawal of US troops from the country by August 31. Biden had issued the order in April. The decision to carry out a deal made with the Taliban by former President Donald Trump was met with widespread condemnation in the United States, where Biden was forced to defend himself. A nationwide survey taken shortly after the Taliban seized control of Kabul revealed that Biden’s approval ratings as president had plummeted to an all-time low of 43 percent, the lowest level ever recorded. When it comes to foreign policy, a significant portion of the American public disapproved of Biden’s handling of it, and many people considered the United States’ involvement in Afghanistan to be a “disaster.”
