Deep differences between the US Department of Defense and the State Department regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan revealed.
“In a secret meeting with senators, Mark Millie, the chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, directly blamed the US State Department for the delayed departure and evacuation from Afghanistan,” Axius website quoted two informed sources as saying.
According to the report, Mark Milli believed that State Department officials had wasted a lot of time issuing an exit order from Kabul airport.
Earlier, Mark Milli said in a public meeting with senators that “should the order to leave Kabul Airport have been issued sooner or not. This is an unanswered question that needs further investigation.”
In two hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, US Middle East Commander Frank McKenzie and Mark Millie attended the Senate Armed Services Committee. The meeting has increasingly highlighted the sharp differences between the Pentagon and the State Department.
Axios added that holding hearings could eventually lead to further scrutiny of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Members of Congress are investigating the Biden administration’s hasty departure from Afghanistan.
