President Trump on Wednesday argued that Defense Secretary Pete Hegses should “dismiss” a US military general who will “dismiss all one” involved in the Biden administration's failed withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Pentagon chief sat to Trump's left during a cabinet meeting at the White House. The reporter asked about the current employment situation of the general, tasked with organizing the August 2021 US exit from Afghanistan.
“I'm not going to tell this guy what to do, but if I had his place, I'd say I'll fire all of them,” Trump replied.
Hegseth should note that under his leadership, the Department of Defense is conducting a “complete review and a plan to be fully accountable for every aspect of what happened in Afghanistan's failed withdrawal.”
“We clearly take a very different view than the previous administration,” the Secretary of Defense continued, with Trump's nomination for retired Air Force Lieutenant General John Dan Dan Razin Kane serving as chairman of the Co-State Chief of Staff. “And you're totally accountable.”
Trump said he expects that the Pentagon review will remove most of the generals involved in the chaotic withdrawal. The result was left behind with American citizens and US partners, resulting in the abandonment of billions of dollars in military equipment and the deaths of 13 US service members.
“I haven't seen any major promotions to that group,” Trump said of the military generals involved in the withdrawal. “I think most of them will be gone.”
“It was a terrifying display.”
The president also called for the Taliban to quickly regain control of Afghanistan within the US exit and return the remaining US military equipment.
“I think they should put our equipment back on, and I told Pete to study it,” Trump said.
“We've left billions of dollars worth of equipment. Brand new trucks. You see them displaying it every year on their little roads,” he added.
The president argued that the Taliban-run country became “one of the largest sellers of military equipment in the world” and profited from selling weapons, armor and machinery left behind by the Biden administration.
