87 Retired Admirals and Generals Demand Resignation of SECDEF and CJCS

 

by Jacob D. Witte 

Posted onAugust 30, 2021

Nearly ninety former Generals and Admirals from the US Armed Forces have called for the resignation of the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley.

The demand comes from the group Flag Officers 4 America and references the perceived failures of the Biden administration to safely withdraw American troops and citizens from Afghanistan. It follows a deadly attack from ISIS-K in Kabul that killed scores of Afghans and 13 Americans.

The letter takes aim at the President and the highest ranks of military leadership, but mostly chastises them for not doing more to convince the Commander-in-Chief to maintain a US troop presence in the country.

Despite reported assurances from the Taliban that the remaining Americans who desire to leave Afghanistan will be afforded the opportunity to do so, the letter claims they are "de facto hostages of the Taliban".

Strangely, the letter also claims that China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and North Korea are the beneficiaries of the withdrawal.

While opening Afghanistan to foreign investment may indeed be considered undesirable to elements of American leadership, one must wonder how preventing trade between other nations justifies 20-year-old US troops dying on the other side of the world. The authors did not elaborate.

One of the final claims of the letter reads, "Terrorists around the world are emboldened and able to pass freely into our country through our open border with Mexico", seemingly implying that the withdrawal has worsened this situation. On this point, the authors also did not elaborate.

Jacob D. Witte is an independent writer and graduate student at the Doermer School of Business in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2021/08/30/87-retired-admirals-and-generals-demand-resignation-of-secdef-and-cjcs/