Trump Rejected Generals’ Advice, Too
Rep. Mike Rogers, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said congressional testimony this week showed that President Joe Biden ignored the advice of top generals about what to do in Afghanistan while former President Donald Trump “did listen to it.” That’s not entirely accurate.
In testimony this week, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley said that last November, Trump backed off an order moving up the date to take all troops out of Afghanistan to Jan. 15 after Milley and others spoke to White House officials “regarding the risks associated with such a withdrawal.”
Trump instead opted to reduce troop levels to 2,500.
But that went against the advice of top military officials, who recommended at the time that Trump not reduce troop levels below the then-level of 4,500 until the Taliban met conditions of an agreement reached with the White House back in February 2020.
Even after he left office, Trump continued to advocate that Biden stick to the May 1 deadline for complete withdrawal that was
