Originally Posted by
havoc
Aside from Biden himself, Austin and Milley bear the most responsibility for the botched withdrawal. They either failed to understand what was happening in Afghanistan or they failed to convince Biden to see it. Either way, they failed.
Just imagine for a second that Austin and Milley both understood what was happening in Afghanistan,
and convinced Biden to see it. Why would he have done anything different? The speed of the Afghan government's collapse was the clearest possible illustration of the futility of the US strategy and vindicated Biden's decision at a stroke.