Top generals testify to Senate in contentious hearing.

September 28, 2021

U.S. military officials did not give President Biden a “unanimous” recommendation to leave Afghanistan until 10 days after the fall of its capital city of Kabul, Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate hearing on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports.

Milley and Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, acknowledged that they had previously advised Biden not to withdraw all American troops ahead of the late-August evacuation. Also facing pointed questions from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee is Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Milley testified that key Trump officials knew of his two calls to reassure his Chinese counterpart that President Donald Trump had no plans to attack China late in his administration, and that Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper directed the first one.

Austin praised the U.S. military’s evacuation efforts. About 124,000 people left Afghanistan through Hamid Karzai International Airport during the 17-day period, but hundreds of Americans and thousands of Afghans who had U.S. visas or were eligible for them were left behind. The same three military leaders are scheduled to appear Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee.

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