US Chief of Staff General Mark Milley made evaluations about the US war and withdrawal in Afghanistan in his statement to ABC television.
Speaking about the war in Afghanistan, Milley said, “It did not end the way I wanted, it did not end the way any of us wanted.” “When the enemy occupies the capital you support, this is a strategic setback, a strategic failure.” he said.
“THE WAR WAS LOST”
“More broadly, the war is lost. We had been fighting the Taliban and their allies for over 20 years. They prevailed in the capital for many reasons that I don’t have time to go into right now. Of course, many of us have had many regrets since 9/11,” Milley said. he said.
“THERE ARE MANY LESSONS LEARNED”
“Battles are not lost in the last 10 days or 10 months. Typically they are the cumulative effect of many turns and changes over many years.” Milley said, “And when the final history of this war is written, it will be seen the same way. There are many lessons learned. There is a lot of left when you should be going to the right, and all of these will be revealed in due time.” made his assessment.
“EVERY SOLDIER I LOST IS A REGRET”
Asked whether he agreed with the mistakes and regrets that the US army should have started evacuating from Afghanistan earlier, Milley said: “Of course, we have lost over 2,400 soldiers in Afghanistan since September 11, and 13 of our soldiers in the attack at Kabul airport.” There are a lot of regrets, for sure. “Every soldier I lose is a regret,” he said.
Arguing that the US military prevented attacks from Afghanistan for 20 years and gave the Afghan people hope for a better life, Milley described the withdrawal process, in which 124 thousand people were evacuated despite the mistakes, as “an incredible logistical success”.
Source: AA