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“You Left 80-Plus Billion Dollars”: Army Vet Shreds Biden for His ‘Political’ Afghanistan Strategy

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2 years ago

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While criticizing President Biden’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Rep. Cory Mills claimed that the president prioritized “political optics” over military strategy during the tumultuous final months of the nation’s longest war.

Cory Mills is a decorated U.S. Army veteran who has served his country both in uniform and as a foreign policy expert. He has served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo and has also traveled to the front lines of Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Mills was appointed as a Department of Defense (DoD) advisor by former President Trump.

Mills told Fox News “Biden’s administration originally said they’d be out by Sept. 11, trying to utilize this date for political optics above military strategy.”

Mills organized a group to assist in the evacuation of an American mother and her three children who were stranded in Afghanistan. However, when the team attempted to land at the approved runway for extraction, they were denied entry.

According to Mills, the team managed to deceive a Taliban guard by convincing him that the woman and children were his own family. The congressman argued that such extreme measures wouldn’t have been necessary with better planning for the Afghanistan withdrawal. Mills cited the shutdown of Bagram Air Base as an example of poor leadership.

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Mills said, “I think we have to recognize the fact that shutting down Bagram Air Base was a strategic failure. We could have run two runways simultaneously, utilizing military and government evacuation at Bagram but also helping to utilize commercial flights in and out that already had tickets booked and planes willing to come in.”

President Biden announced in April 2021 that the United States would withdraw its military troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. The withdrawal began in May 2021, and by August 15, 2021, the Taliban had taken control of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan.

“I think the critical failure was always the idea of putting politics and optics above strategy, that the real intent wasn’t just to try and save all the Americans or allies who we’ve made promises to over the past two plus decades,” Mills said.

“I think we made some critical and fatal flaws, not to mention the fact that one of the grand flaws in my opinion is that you left 80-plus billion dollars in weapons and armor, defense articles, and millions of dollars and pallets of cash,” Mills explained.

“At the end of the day, we have to acknowledge the fact that if you’re an actual leader, especially if you’re the commander in chief, that all the faults that go on ultimately fall on you,” Mills continued. “He has an obligation to the American people and our armed forces to try and ensure that the strategy that we utilize keeps them as safe as possible. Whether it is failures by Secretary Austin to carry out what the Biden administration had put forth or failures by Secretary Blinken to carry out Biden’s intent, it ultimately falls on President Biden as a leader.”

The withdrawal has been criticized for the chaotic evacuation process and the failure to anticipate the speed at which the Taliban would take control of the country. Many have also criticized the Biden administration for leaving behind Afghan allies who assisted the United States during the war, as well as the possibility of a resurgence of terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS in Afghanistan.



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