Are the generals undercutting Biden like they undercut Trump?
President Biden and top military officials are telling different stories about their planning process to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
"I recommended that we maintain 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, and I also recommended early in the fall of 2020 that we maintain 4,500 at that time, those were my personal views," Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said much the same thing: His view "back in the fall of 2020, [which] remained consistent throughout, [was] that we should keep a steady state of 2,500 and it could bounce up to 3,500, maybe, something like that, in order to move toward a negotiated solution."
That's not what Biden said to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in a mid-August interview. Then, Biden indicated he had either not received such advice or it did not reflect the consensus. "No, they didn't. It was split. That wasn't true. That wasn't true," the president said. "No. No one said that to me that I can recall." The White House reiterated that account Tuesday.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Congressional Republicans are focused on whether Biden was telling the truth, which is important. But they shouldn't lose sight of another question: whether the generals are following the directives of the elected, civilian commander-in-chief. We know they slow-walked former President Donald Trump on Afghanistan withdrawal and other issues, even before he gave last-minute directives at the end of his term.
Where generals once pushed back on Trump, often with the media's approval, are they undercutting Biden in retrospect now? Is this bureaucratic buck-passing, or perhaps a warning to the next president who disregards the brass?
Generals provide political leaders with important expert and strategic advice, as is appropriate. But in the age of forever wars, when your only tool is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail. That's a major reason generals don't make the final decision to invade, stay, or go.
There was no Afghan state powerful enough to prevent a Taliban takeover, and the U.S. military could not wish or bomb one into existence. While the war continued, how to forestall the inevitable was up to the generals. But whether to continue the war is up to the people, our elected representatives — and our elected president. Generals can advise, but they shouldn't be an obstacle to presidents who choose to end an aimless war.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.
-
Will California’s Proposition 50 kill gerrymandering reform?Talking Points Or is opposing Trump the greater priority for voters?
-
‘The trickle of shutdowns could soon become a flood’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Wikipedia: Is ‘neutrality’ still possible?Feature Wikipedia struggles to stay neutral as conservatives accuse the site of being left-leaning
-
Will California’s Proposition 50 kill gerrymandering reform?Talking Points Or is opposing Trump the greater priority for voters?
-
‘The trickle of shutdowns could soon become a flood’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Bailouts: Why Trump is rescuing ArgentinaFeature The White House approved a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina
-
Judge halts firings during government shutdownFeature A federal judge blocked President Trump’s plan to cut jobs tied to “Democrat programs,” ruling that his administration violated layoff laws during the shutdown
-
Will Republicans kill the filibuster to end the shutdown?Talking Points GOP officials contemplate the ‘nuclear option’
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
‘France may well be in store for a less than rocambolesque future’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
