(PresidentialWire.com)- The Marine general whose advice to pull out of Afghanistan was turned down by President Joe Biden says that lack of intelligence makes it much harder for the U.S. to stop a terror attack from inside that country.
According to retired Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, we have minimal ability to see inside Afghanistan right now. He believes we only have two or three percent of the intelligence capability we did before our withdrawal.
According to a testimony he gave to Congress earlier this year, McKenzie informed Biden that if the United States didn’t keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, the Taliban would take control of the country. Biden disregarded his guidance.
The general was questioned on Sunday about why he didn’t resign when the president disregarded his counsel.
He said even though he might disagree with a choice made by the civilian leadership, it is his moral obligation to carry out that order.
Resignation “is not something that U.S. officers have traditionally done historically,” McKenzie continued. He said it also sends a terrible message. It is a political act committed by an officer who must have, maintain, and be apolitical.
However, McKenzie recognized that the United States’ decision to withdraw in the manner it did had a significant impact on its capacity to carry out the war against terror.
He stated that preventing al-Qaeda or ISIS from regenerating and being able to launch an attack on our homeland or the homelands of our friends and partners was the reason for the United States’ involvement in Afghanistan. And that’s something that has been “gravely reduced.”
McKenzie was in the Pentagon when one of the hijacked aircraft hit the building on September 11, 2001. He says the 20-year war in Afghanistan has prevented another significant assault on American soil.
He said we stopped severe attacks on the United States. The price was not low. Numerous valiant young Americans died. Many of our allies were lost. Naturally, the Afghan people paid a high price.
