Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, who went viral for his night-vision photo showing the last American soldiers escaping from Kabul, Afghanistan, was secretly confirmed by the Senate on Monday to lead U.S. forces in Europe and Africa.
Donahue, who led the 82nd Airborne Division during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, was selected by President Biden for promotion to four-star general, but his confirmation falls short of a series of others the Senate has given the green light for. was excluded from the list of 100 military promotions. before the Thanksgiving break. According to Politico, the delay was caused by one senator holding up Donahue's confirmation.
Multiple news outlets reported that Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) was responsible for holding the proceedings.
Major Gen. Chris Donahue: Who was the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan?
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, boards a C-17 transport plane as the last U.S. service member to depart from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 30, 2021. (18th Airborne Corps/Handout via Reuters)
Marin has been a vocal critic of the Biden-Harris administration's response to the failed secession, mired in a quagmire by the killings. Thirteen American military personnel and approximately 170 Afghan civilians were killed in a suicide bomb attack at the monastery gates of Hamid Karzai International Airport. Mr. Donahue was the head of the 82nd Airborne, tasked with securing the Kabul airport airfield during the evacuation before the country fell to the Taliban.
The senator condemned Donahue and other officials in a statement on August 24, 2024, marking the third anniversary of the suicide bombing.
“Three years later, no General Milley, General McKenzie, General Donahue, US Ambassador to Tajikistan John Pomersheim, or anyone at the State Department has been held accountable for this disaster,” Mullin said at the time. . “To this day, no one has testified before Congress who issued this order. No one is held responsible.”
Mark Esper, President-elect Trump's former defense secretary and Trump critic, defended Donahue's nomination and called for the suspension to be lifted last month.
U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and Polish Gen. Wojciech Marwica after a U.S. Air Force transport plane transporting military equipment and soldiers arrived at Rzeszow Jashonka Airport in southeastern Poland on February 6. told journalists. 2022. (Yanek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images)
“The blame for the disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan lies with the White House, not the Pentagon, and certainly not with the leaders in uniform who dutifully carried out President Biden's misguided decisions,” Esper said. I wrote this.
Army unit posts photo of last US soldier leaving Afghanistan
During his campaign, President Trump promised to fire Donahue as well as other executives involved in the withdrawal.
A U.S. official told NBC News last month that Trump's transition team was compiling a list of current and former U.S. military officials who could face court-martial over the withdrawal.
A sign displaying the photos and names of the 13 military personnel killed in the terrorist attack at the Monastery Gate outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul is seen during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 9, 2024. . (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
The hold was lifted, and the Senate ultimately approved Donahue's promotion to commander of the European and African Command by unanimous consent on Monday. Marin had not publicly commented on the hold.
Donahue will lead the 18th Airborne Corps from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, starting in 2022.
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He also served as leader of the Special Operations Joint Task Force in Afghanistan and as deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
