/Afghanistan updates: Top generals finish 2nd day of grilling on US withdrawal

Afghanistan updates: Top generals finish 2nd day of grilling on US withdrawal

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, nearly choked up when speaking in the House hearing on Afghanistan and offered some harsh words for Biden and the committee, which he said under both Democrat and Republican presidents cautioned against a premature withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“I think most veterans feel heartbroken knowing the blood and the treasure spilled ended up in a ‘strategic failure,'” Bacon said, quoting witness Gen. Mark Milley. “I think we’re enraged by it.”

“Then to have the president come out and say that this was a success, and he had no regrets — this does not break our hearts, that makes us mad as hell,” Bacon continued.

“The fact that President Biden on ABC said that no one that he can recall advised him to keep a force of about 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, it’s not true. We heard yesterday, and we’ve heard today that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the CENTCOM commander advise differently,” he said. “I have no other view to see this as a lie. A falsehood from our president — that makes us mad as hell too.”

Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., pushed back on Bacon’s interpretation of Biden’s interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, by focusing on the world “stable.”

“He was asked, could they stay there in a stable environment. That is the option he said wasn’t on the table, not because it wasn’t offered, but because it didn’t exist,” Smith said.

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