International, Military, Politics, U.S., U.S. Elections

Trump wants charges for military leaders over Afghanistan withdrawal: Report

November 18, 2024

Jodie Hawkins

Summary

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1:22 min listen

Full story

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly investigating the 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal in Afghanistan and whether military leaders could face charges over their involvement. NBC News reported Trump’s team is putting together a list of current and former military officials who had a hand in the withdrawal and determining if they could be charged with treason.

It’s not clear what would legally justify treason charges, since the military officers were following the orders of President Joe Biden to withdraw all U.S. forces.

A source tells NBC, the team is looking at the possibility of recalling several commanders to active duty for the possible charges.

The investigation stems from an attack by a suicide bomber in August 2021 that killed 13 U.S. service members outside an airport gate in Kabul.

Trump has repeatedly condemned the attack, blaming the Biden-Harris administration. He has called it “the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.”

Following the attack in Kabul, Biden responded to what was at the time vocal and bipartisan criticism by defending his troop withdrawal.

“I was not going to extend this forever war and I was not extending a forever exit,” Biden said on Aug. 31, 2021, following the attack.

A 2022 review by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) blamed both the Trump and Biden administrations for the fallout from the withdrawal.

Afghanistan withdrawal timeline

In 2020, Trump reached an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw all 13,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The agreement also released 5,000 Taliban fighters from prison.

The Trump administration said if the Biden administration stuck with the May 1, 2021 deadline they had signed to leave by, the Taliban wouldn’t attack American forces.

However, the Biden administration said the complete drawdown would take much longer and set a Sept. 11, 2021 deadline instead.

Biden finished the withdrawal and according to the review, it overestimated the ability of Afghan government forces to fight the Taliban on their own.

Trump’s choice for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has criticized the withdrawal, saying the U.S. wasted billions of dollars.

Trump’s transition team hasn’t commented on the reported investigation into military leaders and the troop withdrawal.

Tags: Afghanistan, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Kabul, nbc news, Taliban, U.S. military

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- Trump Team Compiling List of Officers for Courts-Martial
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Summary

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Full story

It’s not clear what would legally justify treason charges, since the military officers were following the orders of President Joe Biden to withdraw all U.S. forces.

A source tells NBC, the team is looking at the possibility of recalling several commanders to active duty for the possible charges.

The investigation stems from an attack by a suicide bomber in August 2021 that killed 13 U.S. service members outside an airport gate in Kabul.

Trump has repeatedly condemned the attack, blaming the Biden-Harris administration. He has called it “the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.”

Following the attack in Kabul, Biden responded to what was at the time vocal and bipartisan criticism by defending his troop withdrawal.

“I was not going to extend this forever war and I was not extending a forever exit,” Biden said on Aug. 31, 2021, following the attack.

A 2022 review by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) blamed both the Trump and Biden administrations for the fallout from the withdrawal.