US secretary of defense: We were surprised by rapid collapse of Afghan Army
Senior American defense officials testified before the Senate during a two-day hearing on the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that a reconstituted al-Qaeda with aspirations to attack the U.S. is a very possibility
Dan Arkin
| 29/09/2021
Secretary of Defense Austin testifies at the Senate hearing on Tuesday. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
"The fact that the Afghan army we and our partners trained simply melted away, in many cases without firing a shot, took us all by surprise," said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the start of a two-day Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the subject of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
CNN and Reuters reported that senior defense officials testifying at the hearing would face many questions and harsh criticism from both parties, mainly from Republicans planning to direct their criticism against President Biden and his decisions.
The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said during his testimony that he never imagined that the Taliban would take over the country so quickly, but pointed out that the U.S. Army had warned at the end of 2020 that unconditional withdrawal could lead to the collapse of the Afghan Army and the government in Kabul. Gen. Milley praised the American teams who carried out the large-scale operation for the evacuation of 124,000 Afghans, an operation during which 13 American soldiers and several dozen Afghan citizens were killed.
"Was it perfect? Of course not," Austin said, referring to the airlift. Gen. Milley said immediately after the secretary of defense's remarks that the Taliban continues to be a terrorist organization that has not severed its ties with al-Qaeda. He warned that a reconstituted al-Qaeda with aspirations to attack the U.S. "is a very real possibility", possibly in as little as a year.
Defense Secretary Austin also defended the Biden administration's plan for dealing with terror threats from Al-Qaeda or ISIS using drones or commandos in the future.
Senior American defense officials testified before the Senate during a two-day hearing on the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that a reconstituted al-Qaeda with aspirations to attack the U.S. is a very possibility
Secretary of Defense Austin testifies at the Senate hearing on Tuesday. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
"The fact that the Afghan army we and our partners trained simply melted away, in many cases without firing a shot, took us all by surprise," said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the start of a two-day Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the subject of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
CNN and Reuters reported that senior defense officials testifying at the hearing would face many questions and harsh criticism from both parties, mainly from Republicans planning to direct their criticism against President Biden and his decisions.
The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said during his testimony that he never imagined that the Taliban would take over the country so quickly, but pointed out that the U.S. Army had warned at the end of 2020 that unconditional withdrawal could lead to the collapse of the Afghan Army and the government in Kabul. Gen. Milley praised the American teams who carried out the large-scale operation for the evacuation of 124,000 Afghans, an operation during which 13 American soldiers and several dozen Afghan citizens were killed.
"Was it perfect? Of course not," Austin said, referring to the airlift. Gen. Milley said immediately after the secretary of defense's remarks that the Taliban continues to be a terrorist organization that has not severed its ties with al-Qaeda. He warned that a reconstituted al-Qaeda with aspirations to attack the U.S. "is a very real possibility", possibly in as little as a year.
Defense Secretary Austin also defended the Biden administration's plan for dealing with terror threats from Al-Qaeda or ISIS using drones or commandos in the future.
