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EXCLUSIVE: Military expert says General Scott Miller gets the lion's share of blame for Afghanistan debacle, claiming by abandoning Bagram he prioritized politics instead of questioning Biden's flawed decision to reduce US troops to just 700
Daily Mail ^ | By Josh Boswell For Dailymail.com 13:53 25 Aug 2021

Posted on 08/26/2021 7:59:06 PM PDT by 11th_VA

Retiring General Scott Miller is to blame for the bungled US exit from Afghanistan, a military expert who predicted the fall of the nation's capital months ago has claimed.

Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, slammed military leadership, telling DailyMail.com he tried to warn the Pentagon of the swift advance of the Taliban towards Kabul in the weeks before they took the city but was 'ignored'.

Roggio said President Joe Biden insisted on a reduced force of just 700 troops to both keep the US embassy in Kabul open and secure an airport to evacuate the rest of the 3,500 US soldiers, thousands of other Americans and Afghan allies.

As the US commander on the ground and facing the tight constraint, Miller chose Hamid Karzai International Airport in the middle of Kabul for the evacuation, telling US forces to abandon the nearby military airbase of Bagram outside the city.

Miller left Afghanistan in July and is due to retire from the military.

But his fateful decision came back to bite him when the Taliban swarmed into the capital within days, surrounding the airport and frustrating the evacuation of both Americans and allied Afghans, leaving many stranded and at risk of attack….

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Israel; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: California; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afganistan; afghanistan; biden; billroggio; blaber; bullpuckey; colblaber; colonelpeteblaber; dailymail; dereliction; iran; israel; jokebiden; joshboswell; kabul; lebanon; peteblaber; rout; scapegoat; scottmiller; surrender; trumpvsbiden; unitedkingdom; waronterror
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To: nuconvert

“earlier it was reported as Milley saying we didn’t need Bagram”

I saw the video of Milley Vannili saying this three times today.


21 posted on 08/26/2021 8:09:57 PM PDT by DAC21
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To: 11th_VA
This is bogus and finger pointing

Milley already has testified under oath to Congress that Gen Miller was acting on orders when he abandoned the airfield

22 posted on 08/26/2021 8:10:44 PM PDT by rdcbn1
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To: 11th_VA

Running out on Bagram is one of the greatest military blunders in American history. Right up there with Little Big Horn.


23 posted on 08/26/2021 8:10:55 PM PDT by circlecity
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To: 11th_VA

Soldiers take orders from politicians who are out of their depth. Young men die as a result. If anyone should resign for carrying out the bizarre order to abandon Bagram, it should be Milley and Austin.Biden of course is demented and corrupt. He does not have the honor, decency or self insight to take real responsibility, much less resign. Actually he simply does what his controlling cabal tells him. If Milley were a true American patriot, he would identify the identities of the people behind the curtain.


24 posted on 08/26/2021 8:12:57 PM PDT by allendale
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To: 11th_VA

ping 4l8r


25 posted on 08/26/2021 8:13:10 PM PDT by knarf (qa)
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To: 11th_VA
Ding..Ding...Ding

We have a scapegoat.

26 posted on 08/26/2021 8:13:28 PM PDT by Bearshouse
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To: 11th_VA

So, more dilution of the blame from Biden to others (Trump, retiring Generals, etc.).


27 posted on 08/26/2021 8:13:56 PM PDT by CatOwner (Don't expect anyone, even conservatives, to have your back when the SHTF in 2021)
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To: 11th_VA

The spin game is starting. The Deep State Establishment still needs its stooge puppet Biden to continue on in office.


28 posted on 08/26/2021 8:16:04 PM PDT by dowcaet
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To: 11th_VA
June 23, at budget request hearing, Austin was asked about saving Bagram but Milley needed to insert himself to say this. "Bagram is not necessary, tactically or operationally for what we are going to try to do here with Afghanistan".

https://mobile.twitter.com/SCUBA2024/status/1431019669863927813?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1431019669863927813%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftexags.com%2Fforums%2F16%2Ftopics%2F3220560

29 posted on 08/26/2021 8:16:12 PM PDT by 11th_VA (Stolen elections have consequences.)
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To: 11th_VA

“Securing Bagram is a significant level of military operating forces,” Milley says. “It would also require external support from the Afghan security forces. Our task, given to us at that time, our task was to protect the embassy,” Milley said.

““If we were to keep both Bagram and the embassy going, that would be a significant number of military forces…that may have exceeded what we had, or stayed the same as what we had,” Milley continued. “So you had to collapse one or the other. And the decision was made, the proposal was made, from CENTCOM commander and the commander on the ground, Scottie Miller, to go ahead and collapse Bagram. That was all briefed and approved and we estimated that the risk of going out of KIA, or the risk of going out of Bagram, were about the same, so going out of KIA was the better tactical solution…in accordance with getting the troops down to a 600, 700 number.”


30 posted on 08/26/2021 8:16:37 PM PDT by nuconvert ( Warning: Accused of being a radical militarist. Approach with caution.)
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To: nuconvert
earlier it was reported as Milley saying we didn’t need Bagram

Well there is that video of Milleys' testimony.

31 posted on 08/26/2021 8:17:21 PM PDT by Bearshouse
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To: 11th_VA

The buck stops, in fact, uh…c’mon man. You know. The thing.


32 posted on 08/26/2021 8:17:38 PM PDT by jdsteel ("A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it." Sorry Ben, looks like we blew it.)
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To: 11th_VA

Shift blame, parse, deflect, delay, obfuscate and just flat out spew bulls**t.


33 posted on 08/26/2021 8:17:57 PM PDT by Attention Surplus Disorder (Apoplectic is where we want them)
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To: 11th_VA

There are so many weasel words in these stories.

For example, the article states that Miller was the planner. But it doesn’t indicate what his constraints were. For example, if he was told to come up with the best withdrawal plan…I am sure it would have looked different.

But he was told to do a plan with 700 troops. That’s a pretty small force.

Even Generals do what they are told, within the constraints provided to them.

The second this guy retires he should explain what his constraints were.


34 posted on 08/26/2021 8:18:19 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: 11th_VA

Many many flag officers need to be retired due to excessive political motivations


35 posted on 08/26/2021 8:18:44 PM PDT by Sgt_Schultze (When your business model depends on slave labor, you're always going to need more slaves)
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To: 11th_VA

Ice cream man is to blame.

End of story.


36 posted on 08/26/2021 8:20:04 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA (You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.)
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To: 11th_VA

Yes, he is.


37 posted on 08/26/2021 8:20:13 PM PDT by Texas Fossil ((Texas is not where you were born, but a Free State of Heart, Mind & Attitude!))
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To: 11th_VA

Has our entire military upper brass been de-balled and woke?


38 posted on 08/26/2021 8:22:37 PM PDT by Kevin in California
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To: Bearshouse

Maybe Miller said collapse to Kabul. But he was responding to you got no more then 700 make a choice. Kind of like he was going to be the fall guy.
I had a manager try that with me on a far less serious issue then this I E setting me up for failure. Fortunately for me Reagan removed him before he got me. Bidet and his whole staff needs be removed pronto before they do more damage


39 posted on 08/26/2021 8:26:37 PM PDT by Mouton (The enemy of the people is the media )
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To: nuconvert

Our task, given to us at that time, our task was to protect the embassy,” Milley said.

who gave that task? STATE DEPARTMENT? they wanted kabul not bagram as it was closer to the embassy...


40 posted on 08/26/2021 8:27:11 PM PDT by rolling_stone
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