The nation’s top general said Wednesday that there are “lessons to be learned” from a rushed, chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that ultimately left more than 100 Americans stranded in a country now controlled by the Taliban.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, admitted to personal “pain and anger” as the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan came to an end after 20 years. But from a purely tactical perspective, he said, there remain many outstanding questions.
“We’re going to learn from this experience as a military. How we got to this moment in Afghanistan will be analyzed and studied for years to come. And we in the military will approach this with humility, transparency and candor,” he said. “There are many tactical, operational and strategic lessons to be learned.”
Gen. Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have faced growing calls to resign for their roles in the U.S. exit from Afghanistan. Specifically, critics have taken aim at several key decisions made by the Pentagon, including the closing of Bagram Air Base months before the American military withdrawal was complete.
That decision left Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul as the only facility from which tens of thousands of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies could escape the country, which came back under the control of the Taliban on Aug. 15.
The two military leaders also have taken heat for seemingly failing to plan for a scenario in which the U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed in a matter of days and American troops and diplomats had to evacuate the country immediately.
And the Defense Department has faced withering criticism as photos and video have surfaced showing Taliban fighters now equipped with cutting-edge American vehicles, weapons and other equipment left behind during the frantic withdrawal.
Mr. Austin seemed to concede some parts of the mission could have been handled differently.
“There hasn’t been a single operation that I’ve ever been involved in where we didn’t discover something we could have done better or more efficiently or more effectively,” he told reporters. “No operation is ever perfect.”