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Afghanistan

Soetoro's Joint Chiefs chair says US should have gotten out of Afghanistan earlier

2021-08-23

[The Hill] Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Ret. Admiral Michael Mullen said Sunday that the U.S. should have left the Afghanistan more quickly after the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

During an appearance on ABC’s "This Week," Mullen, who served under former President Obama, also gave credit to President Biden for his focus on counterterrorism in Afghanistan.

"Think, in retrospect, yes, we should have. I don't think it was possible for us to just abruptly walk away right after we killed bin Laden. But, clearly, we could have gone earlier than we did," Mullen told host Martha Raddatz.

"As I look back and -- and a lot of people are critical of the president right now, President Biden had it right back then. He was focused singly on counterterrorism. His advice was along those lines. And he certainly said that. And I give him credit for that."

Afghanistan's government fell last week as the Taliban took control of Kabul, regaining full control of the country for the first time since 2001, when U.S. troops arrived there in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Posted by:Besoeker

#4 well the peak number of troops there was during Mullen's time as Chairman of the JCoStaff

Obama announced on at least 4 occasions and end to combat ops but they still continued

Posted by: Glumble Pheque5370 2021-08-23 15:17

#3 ^^^
Oooooh U'z gettin sharper by d'day, very well x-press'd.

P.S. Please tell me the Brain Vitamins you're taking. I want some, don't tell me they are Fred Flintstone chewibles, either.

Posted by: Whoter Thrusoth3327 2021-08-23 13:33

#2 In woke Washington, the public confessions, holding up the little "Red Book of WHite Guilt and Black Exceptionalism" is a prerequisite to Corporate sinecures now for all the former "warrior" class looking for the good life. Momentary shame but then the sweet ride....so what price honor and dignity when you can join the apparent new world order aristocracy?

Posted by: NoMoreBS 2021-08-23 13:23

#1 "'Sickening': Here's why one retired military officer spoke out against Trump, Mike Mullen says president aids racial injustice and politicizes the military." By Elizabeth McLaughlin, ABC News, June 4, 2020.

Mullen:

"While no one should ever condone the violence, vandalism, and looting that has exploded across our city streets, neither should anyone lose sight of the larger and deeper concerns about institutional racism that have ignited this rage," Mullen wrote in his op-ed. "As a white man, I cannot claim perfect understanding of the fear and anger that African Americans feel today. But as someone who has been around for a while, I know enough—and I've seen enough—to understand that those feelings are real and that they are all too painfully founded." He called the images of law enforcement, backed by the National Guard, clearing peaceful protesters out of Lafayette Square with smoke canisters and pepper balls so the president could pose for a photo outside St. John's Church "sickening."

Posted by: Bertie Crains2651 2021-08-23 08:05

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