Retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer raised their concerns on Newsmax Saturday condemned the Biden administration's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, saying officials refuse to acknowledge critical mistakes that led to the loss of American lives.
In an appearance on "Saturday Report," Shaffer, who was directly involved in developing the 2020 Doha Agreement under the Trump administration, expressed his dismay at the Biden administration's decision to ignore the agreement's conditions.
The agreement, signed on Feb. 29, 2020, between the U.S. and the Taliban, was designed to create a conditional pathway to peace, contingent on cooperation between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
"Well, as someone who was actually involved in the process of putting that deal together, after speaking with Mike Pompeo and others, I was appalled that they departed and ignored the conditions," Shaffer said. He emphasized that the agreement hinged on strict conditions that were not adhered to, and Vice President Kamala Harris's insistence that no mistakes were made was especially troubling to him.
"Vice President Harris has said three times on record she was in the room with [President Joe] Biden, and she now even says there were no mistakes made. There were huge mistakes made — mistakes which cost the lives of 13 members of the military," Shaffer stated.
Holt supported Shaffer's claims, arguing that the withdrawal's failure was part of a larger systemic issue in military leadership. He pointed to the events in Kabul, where U.S. troops struggled with an increasingly chaotic evacuation, and noted the long-term consequences of these decisions.
"Tony's absolutely right. This is part of the three-legged stool as to why we can't retain competent military planners, why we can't recruit our best and brightest in America. It is the failure in Kabul and the disingenuous lies that continue to this day with it," Holt said.
"You then see this weakness translate into [Russian President] Vladimir Putin getting the go-ahead to invade Ukraine. You now see that Iran is asserting itself through its proxies in the Middle East. North Africa is on fire. You've got China burrowing in on the Philippines — all bundled together out of this," he said.
Both veterans criticized the administration's response, pointing to Harris and National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby dismissing lower-ranking personnel's Afghanistan concerns. Holt stated that this dismissal insulted the military personnel who still serve under the current administration.
"This is how America gets insulted, and it's not just those incredible patriots that still serve honorably to this day under this type of regime," Holt remarked.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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