The Trump administration is likely to release a report reviewing the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan before the US midterm elections, a move that could reignite debate over the end of Afghanistan’s 20-year war.
The Washington Post reported on Monday, October 19, that current and former US military leaders are preparing for the release of the report.
The review was conducted at the direction of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and includes interviews with several senior military officers who oversaw the withdrawal of US forces and the evacuation operation following the collapse of the Afghan government in August 2021.
During his 2024 election campaign, Donald Trump pledged to hold accountable those involved in the Joe Biden administration’s decision-making at the end of the war in Afghanistan.
Hegseth has also said he is committed to fulfilling that promise.
However, the exact release date of the report remains unclear. The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the findings of the review could be released before the November 3 midterm elections.
According to these sources, the report may recommend disciplinary action against generals who were involved at the time.
Previous reviews of the Afghanistan evacuation indicate that US generals repeatedly warned that a complete withdrawal of US forces could lead to the collapse of the Afghan government.
These generals included Kenneth McKenzie, Mark Milley and Austin “Scott” Miller.
Milley was chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and Biden’s senior military adviser at the time, while Miller was the most senior US general in Afghanistan until one month before the evacuation operation began.
Milley and McKenzie have said that Donald Trump’s 2020 agreement with the Taliban to withdraw all US forces by the spring of 2021 played a significant role in the collapse of the Afghan government.
Miller also said in a classified interview with US lawmakers that he had repeatedly warned about the rapid deterioration of Afghanistan’s security situation following the withdrawal of US forces.
According to Miller, Afghanistan had been in a situation where it was “burning in flames” since March 2020, shortly after the Trump administration reached an agreement with the Taliban.
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