The Afghanistan Withdrawal: 'We Did Not See This Coming This Fast'

General Mark MilleyThe war in Afghanistan was a strategic failure. The enemy was in Kabul. The government collapsed. The president fled. The military surrendered. That is a strategic failure. It wasn't lost in the last 20 days or even in the last 20 months. It was the cumulative effect of 20 years of decisions, many of which I participated in.

Senator Jack ReedGeneral Milley, you've said the collapse of the Afghan government happened faster than anticipated. What was the intelligence assessment in the weeks before the fall?

General Mark MilleySenator, the intelligence community assessed that the Afghan government would likely collapse within six to twelve months after a U.S. withdrawal. My personal view was that it would happen more quickly, perhaps within weeks or months. But no one, and I mean no one, predicted that the government would collapse in 11 days. That was a failure of intelligence, and I own my share of that.

Senator Jim InhofeSecretary Austin, you advised the President to keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. Is that correct?

Lloyd AustinSenator, I provided my personal advice to the President. I believe that 2,500 troops was a prudent number to maintain a stable situation. The President made the decision to withdraw. Once that decision was made, my job was to execute it as safely and effectively as possible.

Senator Jim InhofeAnd did you warn the President that a complete withdrawal would lead to the collapse of the Afghan government?

Lloyd AustinI provided the President with my assessment of the risks. I told him that without a U.S. military presence, the Afghan security forces would face significant challenges. I also told him that the Taliban would likely make substantial gains. But I did not predict the total collapse of the government in 11 days.

Rep. Michael McCaulSecretary Blinken, this was an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions. You abandoned Americans behind enemy lines. You left Bagram Airfield in the middle of the night without telling the Afghan commander. You gave the Taliban a list of names of Americans and Afghan allies. Is that true?

Antony BlinkenCongressman, we did not give the Taliban a list of names. We provided the Taliban with a list of locations where we understood Americans might be gathering, so that the Taliban would not interfere with their passage. This was a tactical decision to facilitate the evacuation.

Rep. Michael McCaulSo you gave the Taliban a list of locations and you don't think that's the same thing as giving them names?

Antony BlinkenCongressman, we were in a situation where we had no military presence on the ground. We had to rely on the Taliban to allow safe passage. It was a terrible choice, but it was the choice we had to make to get people out.

Senator Tom CottonGeneral Milley, the Doha agreement that President Trump negotiated with the Taliban required the Taliban to break with al-Qaeda, reduce violence, and negotiate in good faith with the Afghan government. Did the Taliban meet any of those conditions?

General Mark MilleySenator, the Taliban did not meet the conditions of the Doha agreement. They did not break with al-Qaeda. They did not reduce violence. Violence actually increased after the agreement was signed. And they did not negotiate in good faith.

Senator Tom CottonSo why did we continue to withdraw?

General Mark MilleyThat was a policy decision, Senator. The military's role was to provide options and execute the orders we were given.

Senator Elizabeth WarrenGeneral Milley, on August 29th, a U.S. drone strike in Kabul killed ten civilians, including seven children. You initially called it a righteous strike. Was it?

General Mark MilleySenator, it was a mistake. I said it was a righteous strike at the time based on the intelligence we had. I was wrong. It was a tragic mistake. We killed innocent people, and I take full responsibility for that. We have initiated a full investigation and we will hold people accountable.

Senator Elizabeth WarrenHow many civilians did we kill in our final days in Afghanistan?

General Mark MilleyWe are still investigating, Senator. I don't have a final number. But any civilian death is a tragedy.

Senator Angus KingWe spent $83 billion training and equipping the Afghan security forces. Three hundred thousand troops. They had air superiority. They had better equipment. How did they collapse in 11 days?

General Mark MilleySenator, the Afghan forces did not collapse because they couldn't fight. They collapsed because they chose not to fight. When the United States withdrew, the Afghan forces concluded that the game was over. The government of Afghanistan fled. The president fled. The military followed. It was a collapse of will, not a collapse of capability.

Senator Angus KingSo we spent $83 billion on an army that didn't want to fight?

General Mark MilleySenator, you can't purchase willpower. You can't purchase leadership. We can train soldiers. We can equip forces. But we cannot give them the will to fight for their own country. That has to come from within.

Senator Tammy DuckworthSecretary Austin, in retrospect, what should we have done differently?

Lloyd AustinSenator, I think we should have begun the evacuation of our Afghan allies much earlier. The Special Immigrant Visa process was too slow. We had years of warning that this moment would come, and we didn't move fast enough to get the people who helped us out of the country.

Senator Tammy DuckworthHow many Afghan allies did we leave behind?

Lloyd AustinWe evacuated approximately 124,000 people in 17 days, the largest non-combatant evacuation in American history. But we did not get everyone out. I don't have an exact number, but tens of thousands of our Afghan allies remain in Afghanistan. We are working with partners in the region to continue the evacuation through diplomatic channels.

General Mark MilleyIf I may add, Senator: the war in Afghanistan was a 20-year endeavor. We did not lose the war in the final 17 days. We lost it over 20 years. The collapse was the result of a cumulative failure of strategy, not a failure of the final evacuation. We owe it to the American people and to the Afghan people to be honest about that.