WATCH: Tom Cotton Slams Disgraced General Milley: ‘Why Haven’t You Resigned?’
Senator Tom Cotton (Arkansas) blasted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Mark Milley regarding their interactions with President Joe Biden that led to the disastrous US withdrawal from Afghanistan, noting that the military’s recommendation to keep 2,500 troops in the country was not presented until ten days after Kabul fell in the hands of the Taliban.
In a Senate appearance on Tuesday, Cotton asked Milley: “It’s your testimony that you recommended 2,500 troops, approximately, to stay in Afghanistan?”
To this, Milley responded that he doesn’t share his personal recommendations to Biden.
“As I’ve said many times before this committee and other committees, I don’t share my personal recommendations with the president but I can tell you my personal opinion and assessment if that’s what you want,” Milley said.
When given the go, Milley added: “Yes. My assessment was, back in the fall of (20)20, and it remained consistent throughout, that we should keep a steady state of 2,500 and it could bounce up to 3,500, maybe something like that, in order to move toward a negotiated gated solution.”
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Cotton then asked Milley whether he presented that assessment personally to Biden.
“I don’t discuss exactly what my conversations are with a sitting president in the Oval Office but I can tell you what my personal opinion was and I am always candid,” Milley responded.
The senator from Arkansas then turned to General Kenneth McKenzie, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander, inquiring whether he or General Austin Miller, the Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, also agree with this recommendation from Milley — to which McKenzie said he does.
Cotton then asked again whether McKenzie or Miller ever presented these unanimous assessments to Biden before the Democratic president triggered the pull-out of all American troops out of Afghanistan.
To this, McKenzie said that he wouldn’t be able to share discussions made with President Biden.
The Republican senator then asked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about the President’s claims that he received no military advice to retain a small presence of US troops in the country.
And instead of directly answering, Austin dodged the question and remarked that he “knows the president to be an honest and forthright man.”
“It’s a simple question, Secretary Austin,” Cotton responded. “He said no senior military leader advised him to leave a small troop presence behind.”
“Is that true or not?” Cotton pressed. “Did these officers and General Miller’s recommendations get to the president personally?”
To this, Austin noted that Biden did receive the inputs from the military — although he refused to comment what those recommendations were.
“Their input was received by the president, for sure,” Austin said. “In terms of what they specifically recommended, Senator, as they just said, they’re not gonna provide what they recommended in confidence.”
“It sounds to me, this is shocking to me. It sounds to me like maybe their best military advice was never presented personally to the President of the United States about such a highly consequential matter,” Cotton said.
Turning to Milley, he added: “General Milley: Joe Biden has said that it was the unanimous recommendation of the Joint Chiefs that we not maintain a military presence beyond August 31. We’ve heard testimony to that effect as well. When was that unanimous recommendation sought and presented to the president?”
Milley responded that it was on August 25.
“August 25? Kabul fell on August 15. You were not asked before August 25?” Cotton hit back at Milley.
“On August 25 I was asked to provide the best military assessment as to whether we should keep military forces past the 31st,” Milley responded.
Cotton again turned to Austin to ask if anybody was asked before August 25 whether we should keep troops at Kabul.
“The president tasked us to provide an assessment on whether or not we should extend our presence beyond August 31, and as General Milley just said, that assessment was made, we tasked him with making that assessment on August 25 and he came back and provided his best military advice,” Austin responded.
“Secretary, Kabul fell on August 15; it was clear that we had thousands of Americans – it was clear to this committee; we were getting phone calls. We had thousands of Americans in Afghanistan behind Taliban lines on August 15 and it took ten days to ask these general officers if we should extend our presence? I suspect the answer might be a little different if you were asking them 16 days out, not five days out,” Cotton charged at Austin.
He then slammed Milley noting that Biden’s top military official’s recommendation was probably rejected.
“General Milley, I can only conclude that your advice about staying in Afghanistan was rejected. I’m shocked to learn that your advice wasn’t sought until August 25 on staying past the August 31 deadline,” Cotton said.
“I understand that you’re the principal military adviser, that you advise but you don’t decide, the president decides, but if all this is true, General Milley, why haven’t you resigned?” the GOP lawmaker asked Milley.
To this, Biden’s top military official defended his stance not to resign amid mounting calls for mass resignation earlier among Biden’s team amid the Afghanistan fallout.
“Senator, as a senior military officer, resigning is a really serious thing. It’s a political act if I’m resigning in protest. My job is to provide advice. My statutory responsibility is to provide legal advice or best military advice to the president. And that’s what the law is,” Milley said. “The president doesn’t have to agree with that advice; he doesn’t have to make those decisions just because we’re generals.”
Milley concluded: This country doesn’t want generals figuring out what orders we’re going to accept and do or not. That’s not our job … I’m not going to resign. … There’s no way. If the orders were illegal, we’re in a different place. But if the orders are legal from a civilian authority, I intend to carry them out.”
