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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Is it possible to have ‘accountability' for the War in Afghanistan?
Well, it's Friday. This is a special edition of the Pentagon Rundown in which we will look at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's promise that the latest Defense Department review of the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan will finally lead to 'accountability' for the debacle. On Aug. 26, 2021, 13 U.S. service members and around 170 Afghans were killed in a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The bombing was the final attack on U.S. troops in a war that claimed the lives of more than 2,000 American service members since it began on Oct. 7, 2001. But what does accountability for the withdrawal from Afghanistan actually look like? And what about accountability for the handling of America's longest war, one plagued almost from the outset by mission creep, nebulous goals, a lack of accountability and transparency, and no clear exit plan? Accountability for that is long overdue, but it's unclear if yet another review of the final moments of a decades-spanning war will achieve it. John Sopko, then serving as the U.S. government's top watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction, told Congress in January 2020 that U.S. government officials had an 'incentive' to lie about progress in Afghanistan. Yet there have been few, if any, consequences for those who kept claiming Afghanistan had turned the corner — claims made by senior leaders in the military and officials from presidential administrations of both parties. Neither Hegseth nor any other civilian or military leaders have said what types of actions the U.S. military might take as a result of the review's findings — a review that focuses just on the withdrawal and not the totality of the war and its management. And if it were to extend to the broader conflict, any real form of accountability would be hampered by the fact that so many of the key decision-makers in the 20-year war have since retired or otherwise left government service. A defense official queried about the matter by Task & Purpose had no additional information to provide. Another question is who exactly should be held accountable for America's defeat in Afghanistan. The chaotic retreat from Kabul in August 2021 was far more than a military failure. Every presidential administration between 2001 and 2021 bears some responsibility, as does Congress, which ceded its authority to declare war to the executive branch shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Let's not forget the State Department, which did not order the non-combatant evacuation from Afghanistan until the day before the Taliban captured Kabul. The United States' NATO allies and its former partners in the now defunct Afghan government also bear a degree of culpability for the final defeat, said Jonathan Schroden, an Afghanistan expert who works for CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis organization in Arlington, Virginia. 'The finger of blame for the outcomes we observed in Afghanistan point at every actor involved,' said Schroden, who previously served as research director for the Afghanistan War Commission, which was established by Congress to conduct a comprehensive review of the conflict. 'It was both a systemic failure of many organizations and the collective failure of many individuals.' Although there have been some previous assessments of failed military missions — such as the Holloway Commission's examination of the 1980 attempt to rescue Americans held hostage by the Iranians — the Afghanistan War Commission marks the first time the United States has attempted to conduct a non-political appraisal of a major war, Schroden said. For the Defense Department, the task of holding people accountable for the failures in Afghanistan will be an uphill climb, especially since the military has a long history of absolving itself from any wrongdoing. Another tried and true military tradition is finding someone to blame for a catastrophe, as the Navy did after an explosion aboard the battleship USS Iowa killed 47 sailors — and again in 2020 following a deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. The military can also be loath to discipline senior leaders, as was initially the case after four soldiers were killed in a 2017 ambush in Niger. Congress ultimately pressured the Army to withdraw a promotion to general for the colonel who approved the mission. In cases where there is no way to deny that a war has gone terribly wrong, another solution is to remove the senior commander by promoting him. Army Gens. William Westmoreland and George Casey were both named Army chief of staff after their strategies in Vietnam and Iraq, respectively, failed. Perhaps the accountability review announced by Hegseth will lead to a truly honest examination of the Afghanistan War, which defined a generation of service members and veterans. Or, it could very well be derailed by the military's inability to accept hard truths — the same thing that doomed the war to drag on until its tragic end. Regardless of how the review pans out, those who served there can and should take pride in the individual acts of sacrifice, bravery and service they participated in and bore witness to. Army to eliminate 2 Security Force Assistance Brigades, reassign experienced soldiers Why the Army's new XM7 rifle reignited a debate over volume of fire Air Force delay on separation and retirement orders isn't 'stop loss,' defense official says F-35's close call over Yemen raises questions about how it's used An Army unit's 'extreme use of profanity' was so bad, they made a rule about it
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Pentagon chief orders ‘comprehensive review' into 2021 US Afghanistan withdrawal
FILE PHOTO: Taliban forces patrol near the entrance gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport, a day after U.S troops withdrawal, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a "comprehensive review" on Tuesday of the United States' chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, an evacuation operation in which 13 U.S. service members and 150 Afghans were killed at Kabul's airport in an Islamic State bombing. It was unclear how Hegseth's review would differ from the many previous reviews that were carried out - including by the U.S. military, State Department and even President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives. Hegseth could be accused of politicizing the matter. The Biden administration, which oversaw the 2021 pullout, mostly blamed the resulting chaos on a lack of planning and reductions in troops by the first Trump administration following a 2020 deal with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. forces. On the campaign trail, Trump frequently criticized Biden and his administration for the withdrawal. In a memo, Hegseth said that after three months of reviewing the withdrawal, a comprehensive review was needed to ensure accountability for this event. "This remains an important step toward regaining faith and trust with the American people and all those who wear the uniform and is prudent based on the number of casualties and equipment lost during the execution of this withdrawal operation," Hegseth wrote. In a statement accompanying the memo, he said Pentagon spokesperson and senior adviser Sean Parnell would lead the review. Other individuals who served in Afghanistan, such as Stuart Scheller, who was publicly critical of the withdrawal while he was in the Marine Corps, would be a part of the review panel. Senior U.S. military officials, including then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and then-top U.S. general Mark Milley, have already appeared before lawmakers. U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, has also carried out an investigation into the Islamic State attack that killed the 13 U.S. troops and dozens of Afghans during the last few days of the withdrawal. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Pentagon chief orders 'comprehensive review' into 2021 US Afghanistan withdrawal
FILE PHOTO: Taliban forces patrol near the entrance gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport, a day after U.S troops withdrawal, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a "comprehensive review" on Tuesday of the United States' chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, an evacuation operation in which 13 U.S. service members and 150 Afghans were killed at Kabul's airport in an Islamic State bombing. It was unclear how Hegseth's review would differ from the many previous reviews that were carried out - including by the U.S. military, State Department and even President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives. Hegseth could be accused of politicizing the matter. The Biden administration, which oversaw the 2021 pullout, mostly blamed the resulting chaos on a lack of planning and reductions in troops by the first Trump administration following a 2020 deal with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. forces. On the campaign trail, Trump frequently criticized Biden and his administration for the withdrawal. In a memo, Hegseth said that after three months of reviewing the withdrawal, a comprehensive review was needed to ensure accountability for this event. "This remains an important step toward regaining faith and trust with the American people and all those who wear the uniform and is prudent based on the number of casualties and equipment lost during the execution of this withdrawal operation," Hegseth wrote. In a statement accompanying the memo, he said Pentagon spokesperson and senior adviser Sean Parnell would lead the review. Other individuals who served in Afghanistan, such as Stuart Scheller, who was publicly critical of the withdrawal while he was in the Marine Corps, would be a part of the review panel. Senior U.S. military officials, including then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and then-top U.S. general Mark Milley, have already appeared before lawmakers. U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, has also carried out an investigation into the Islamic State attack that killed the 13 U.S. troops and dozens of Afghans during the last few days of the withdrawal. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Hindu
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Right now, China occupies Bagram air base in Afghanistan: U.S. President Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that China now occupies the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, which was vacated by America in 2021. The U.S. vacated Bagram, its biggest airfield in the country, in July 2021. "...But we were going to keep Bagram, the big Air Force base, which is one hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons. That's what they do. They make their nuclear missiles, and one hour away from Bagram, and I said you can't give up Bagram,' Mr. Trump said while addressing the 2025 National Day of Prayer at the White House Thursday. "They gave up Bagram, and right now, China occupies Bagram. So sad, so crazy. One of the biggest air bases in the world, among the strongest and longest runways anywhere in the world, one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles,' Mr. Trump said. Blaming the Joe Biden administration, Trump said, 'You wouldn't have had the horror show at Afghanistan, which I think is what gave (Russian President Vladimir) Putin the resolve to go in and do what he did because he looked at how badly we got out. "We lost 13 soldiers, and 42 were horribly injured. Nobody ever talks about them, the legs, the arm, the arms, the face. Horribly injured, that would have never happened. Not even possible to have happened, and we would have been out before he was out,' Mr. Trump said. He appeared to make a reference to the August 26, 2021, Abbey Gate bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul that killed 13 United States military service members and about 160 civilians. Trump has called the American withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration 'disastrous and incompetent.' "Not that they were withdrawing, it was the way they withdrew. Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country,' Trump had said in an address to the Joint Session of Congress earlier this year. 'It would have been great to have while we were keeping it, but they ran out of there like nobody could believe, and I think Putin saw that and he said, 'Wow, this is a great time. I can go get it' because it was the apple of his eye. I could always see that. I talked to him for hours. It was the apple of his eye, but I said, 'Vladimir, don't even think about it'. And he wouldn't have thought about it. But when he saw that, I think that's the reason actually he gained some additional courage, and he went in,' ,Mr. Trump said. Bagram Airfield is located in Afghanistan's Parwan Province, approximately 11 kilometres southeast of the city of Charikar and 47 kilometres north of Kabul. The airfield has an 11,800-foot runway capable of serving bomber and large cargo aircraft.
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Right now, China occupies Bagram air base in Afghanistan: President Trump
US President Donald Trump has claimed that China now occupies the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, which was vacated by America in 2021. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack India's Rafale-M deal may turn up the heat on Pakistan China's support for Pakistan may be all talk, no action India brings grounded choppers back in action amid LoC tensions The US vacated Bagram, its biggest airfield in the country, in July 2021. "...But we were going to keep Bagram, the big Air Force base, which is one hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons. That's what they do. They make their nuclear missiles and one hour away from Bagram, and I said you can't give up Bagram," Trump said while addressing the 2025 National Day of Prayer at the White House Thursday. "They gave up Bagram, and right now, China occupies Bagram. So sad, so crazy. One of the biggest air bases in the world, among the strongest and longest runways anywhere in the world, one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles," Trump said. Blaming the Joe Biden administration, Trump said, "You wouldn't have had the horror show at Afghanistan, which I think is what gave (Russian President Vladimir) Putin the resolve to go in and do what he did because he looked at how badly we got out. Live Events "We lost 13 soldiers, and 42 were horribly injured. Nobody ever talks about them, the legs, the arm, the arms, the face. Horribly injured, that would have never happened. Not even possible to have happened, and we would have been out before he was out," Trump said. He appeared to make a reference to the August 26, 2021, Abbey Gate bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul that killed 13 United States military service members and about 160 civilians. Trump has called the American withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration "disastrous and incompetent." "Not that they were withdrawing, it was the way they withdrew. Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country," Trump had said in an address to the Joint Session of Congress earlier this year. "It would have been great to have while we were keeping it, but they ran out of there like nobody could believe, and I think Putin saw that and he said, 'Wow, this is a great time. I can go get it' because it was the apple of his eye. I could always see that. I talked to him for hours. It was the apple of his eye, but I said, 'Vladimir, don't even think about it'. And he wouldn't have thought about it. But when he saw that, I think that's the reason actually he gained some additional courage, and he went in," Trump said. Bagram Airfield is located in Afghanistan's Parwan Province, approximately 11 kilometres southeast of the city of Charikar and 47 kilometres north of Kabul. The airfield has an 11,800-foot runway capable of serving bomber and large cargo aircraft.
