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Our military leaders confirm: Biden misled America
American Enterprise Institute ^ | October 1, 2021 | Mark A. Thiessen

Posted on 10/03/2021 9:20:58 AM PDT by billorites

After two days of testimony by our military commanders on the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, here is what we have learned: Joe Biden is (as the president once termed a skeptical town hall attendee) “a lying, dog-faced pony soldier.”

In an interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos last month, Biden said none of his military advisers had recommended leaving a residual force of 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. But Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., head of US Central Command, both testified that they had advised Biden — as well as President Donald Trump — to keep 2,500 or more troops in the country.

McKenzie told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “I recommended that we maintain 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. . . . The withdrawal of those forces would lead inevitably to the collapse of the Afghan military forces and eventually the Afghan government.” He told the House Armed Services Committee his assessment had been proved correct: “My concern was that if we withdrew below 2,500 and went to zero, that the Afghan military and government would collapse. And of course, that’s not a potential counterfactual; that is in fact what happened.”

Milley said that while he would not discuss the specific advice he gave the president, his consistent assessment under both Trump and Biden was that “we should keep a steady state of 2,500, and it could bounce up to 3,500.” He said failure to do so risked losing “substantial gains” made over two decades of fighting in Afghanistan and could “damage US worldwide credibility” and result “in a complete Taliban takeover.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified that “their input was received by the president and considered by the president.”

This directly contradicts what Biden said in his interview. Stephanopoulos told Biden, “But your top military advisers warned against withdrawing on this timeline. They wanted you to keep about 2,500 troops.” Biden responded: “No, they didn’t. It was split. Tha — that wasn’t true. That wasn’t true.” Stephanopoulos interjected, “They didn’t tell you that they wanted troops to stay?” Biden answered empathetically: “No. Not at — not in terms of whether we were going to get out in a time frame all troops. They didn’t argue against that.”

Stephanopoulos pressed again “So no one told — your military advisers did not tell you, ‘No, we should just keep 2,500 troops. It’s been a stable situation for the last several years. We can do that. We can continue to do that’?”

“No. No one said that to me that I can recall,” Biden replied.

Not a word of what Biden said was true. Both Milley and McKenzie advocated he leave a residual force, and the recommendations of military leaders were not “split.” Asked which general had advocated for full withdrawal, White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not name one.

No doubt Secretary of State Antony Blinken advocated full withdrawal. He has been pushing for withdrawal for more than a decade, since he was deputy national security adviser in the Obama-Biden administration. But Blinken is not a general. Biden was asked about the advice he got from his “military advisers” — and they were united in telling the president that he should leave a residual force, and that if he failed to do so, the Taliban would probably take over the country. They were right.

The military commanders also confirmed other Biden lies. For example, Biden claimed in a news conference that al-Qaeda was “gone” from Afghanistan, but Milley testified that “al-Qaeda is still in Afghanistan. They were there in mid-August,” when Biden made that false claim.

Biden claimed no allies were questioning the United States’ credibility, but Milley told the Senate committee, “I think that our credibility with allies and partners around the world, and with adversaries, is being intensely reviewed by them to see which way this is going to go. And I think that ‘damage’ is one word that could be used, yes.”

And Biden said he had no choice but to withdraw because of the Doha agreement he had inherited from Trump. But Milley testified that the Taliban violated almost every commitment they made in that agreement. “While the Taliban did not attack US forces, which was one of the conditions, it failed to fully honor any, any other condition under the Doha agreement,” including its promise to renounce al-Qaeda.

The awful agreement Trump negotiated was effectively voided by the Taliban’s failure to adhere to its terms. Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was a choice — one that he made against the unified advice of his military commanders. As commander in chief, he was perfectly free to reject that advice. But as a president accountable to the American people for his decisions, he is not free to lie about it.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: California; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; antonyblinken; california; georgestephanopoulos; kennethmckenziejr; markmilley; nancypelosi; waronterror
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1 posted on 10/03/2021 9:20:58 AM PDT by billorites
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To: billorites

Gee. Biden told a lie. What a surprise ...NOT!


2 posted on 10/03/2021 9:24:57 AM PDT by antidemoncrat (somRead more at: https://economicti)
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To: billorites

The worst part about his lies is he thinks we believe him.

That’s what makes him a Crazed Tyrant.


3 posted on 10/03/2021 9:27:38 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie (All I know is The I read in the papers.)
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To: billorites

Biden misled America.........IMPEACH HIM NOW!


4 posted on 10/03/2021 9:27:42 AM PDT by Candor7 ((Obama Fascism:http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html) )
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To: billorites

We’re being led by an idiot vegetable with senile dementia.


5 posted on 10/03/2021 9:28:52 AM PDT by The One Running the Simulation (Phuc Cho Bai Dung. TRUMP WON.)
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To: billorites

Well as bad a Biden is, at least he didn't make a phone call to the President of the Ukraine.


6 posted on 10/03/2021 9:29:30 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (As long as Hillary Clinton remains free equal justice under the law will never exist in the USA)
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To: Candor7

As long as Yertle McConnell is in office that will never happen. He’s in Chinas back pocket just as much as Xiden. McConnell even said he won’t impeach.


7 posted on 10/03/2021 9:31:38 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (As long as Hillary Clinton remains free equal justice under the law will never exist in the USA)
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To: billorites

“No. No one said that to me that I can recall,” Biden replied.

He used the “recall” card. So either he lied, or he is in serious cognitive decline. Not good either way.


8 posted on 10/03/2021 9:32:20 AM PDT by Ben Dover
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To: billorites

Biden didn’t mislead, he deliberately, cold bloodedly, maliciously lied. There’s no way to gild this Lilly, he should be impeached for lying to the people of the United States, gross incompetence and treason.


9 posted on 10/03/2021 9:34:31 AM PDT by Bayan
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To: billorites

later


10 posted on 10/03/2021 9:37:34 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Covid Is All About Mail In Balloting)
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To: billorites

Milley is a liar and a disgrace.

All these generals are as bad as Biden.

This sort of analysis is naive crap.

Generals deserve as much blame as Biden, maybe more.

I say blame, when to them it’s credit.


11 posted on 10/03/2021 9:39:18 AM PDT by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: antidemoncrat

I guess it takes someone better than a C-student at Syracuse Law School to realize you don’t withdraw your military force first, followed by your allies and civilians and other parties when you are “cutting and running” from a 20 year war zone. C’mon, Man!


12 posted on 10/03/2021 9:41:17 AM PDT by ReleaseTheHounds ("The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." M. Thatcher )
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie
The worst part about his lies is he thinks we believe him.

Neither he nor the democrats nor the MSM care whether we believe him. As long as they can count on us to keep doing what we've been doing, they'll stay in power.

13 posted on 10/03/2021 9:41:44 AM PDT by TwelveOfTwenty (Will whoever keeps asking if this country can get any more insane please stop?)
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To: antidemoncrat

“Misled” is just another word for “lied”.

Richard Nixon was forced into resigning for a LOT less. He just lied about his prior knowledge of Watergate.

This is lying abut how Afghanistan was lost, and the catastrophic collateral losses of Americans, strategic positioning of assets, and just an awful lot of technology at Bagram air base, to of all people, the Communist Chinese Party regime in Beijing. Add to that, lying about the situation at the southern border of the US, and the farcical demands for the wearing of masks and getting an only partially effective “vaccination” that does not seem to prevent the disease at all in many instances, and has a number of side effects that are a real American horror show.

Then an even bigger lie than anything else - that some $3.5 TRILLION in new spending of the next ten years or so, will not in any way, shape, form, or manner, impact taxation, inflation or the national debt.

For the sake of your own soul, Joe, resign and take most of your Cabinet and coterie with you. We cannot afford your lying and subterfuges.


14 posted on 10/03/2021 9:42:05 AM PDT by alloysteel ("Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." - Hanlon's Razor)
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To: billorites

These same Generals leaked to the Washington Post and New York times for 4 years when Trump was President.

But they couldn’t open their damn mouths when our country’s weapons, status, high tech secrets were on the line?

Yeah, right. Cowards, losers, incompetent or just stupid.


15 posted on 10/03/2021 9:42:47 AM PDT by GOPJ (A million illegals A DAY summer 2022... Communism - vote your way in - shoot your way out.)
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To: billorites

Hey George! Can I sniff that lovely head of hair you have there? Please!!!


16 posted on 10/03/2021 9:43:44 AM PDT by Honest Nigerian
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To: ifinnegan

Generals deserve more blame. Their only sworn function is to defend America against all enemies, foreign AND domestic. The enemies that the play footsie with would kill them in a heartbeat if it served their purpose.


17 posted on 10/03/2021 9:44:06 AM PDT by Newbomb Turk
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To: billorites

btt


18 posted on 10/03/2021 9:48:37 AM PDT by GailA (Constitution vs evil Treasonous political Apparatchiks, Constitutional Conservative.)
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To: Newbomb Turk

Yes.


19 posted on 10/03/2021 9:51:02 AM PDT by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: billorites

That’s what they testified to in the Senate, but refused, as did the Joek, to report what was actually said when they met.

So you have to trust them that they are not going full CYA and trust the Joek because he is the Resident. Some one is lying. Some one we are supposed to trust. Is it the guy with the script writers and the faulty memory or the bunch who are inline for cushy civilian jobs later on?


20 posted on 10/03/2021 9:53:10 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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