• Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock
Editor's Pick

Mark Milley pardoned: General at center of Afghanistan withdrawal predicted it wouldn’t be a Saigon moment

by January 20, 2025
written by January 20, 2025

Former President Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Gen. Mark Milley on Monday, capping off a presidency marred by the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.

Milley accepted the pardon, saying in a statement he does not want to spend the remainder of his life fighting ‘retribution.’ 

But critics of the withdrawal in Congress say they aren’t done with him. 

‘Mark Milley might be pardoned, but we will continue to explore ways to hold him accountable,’ said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., an Afghanistan veteran.

Post-withdrawal assessments largely question why the military pulled out of the region before civilian evacuations were complete. 

Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has admitted the withdrawal where 13 U.S. troops lost their lives was a ‘strategic failure.’ 

During a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in 2024, Milley blamed the State Department for delaying a Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO), or an order to withdraw U.S. civilians working in the country, but praised the military’s actions.

That order did not come until mid-August 2021, just two weeks before the deadline Biden had set to leave the country. 

‘I think that was too slow and too late. And that then caused a series of events that resulted in the very last couple of days. There’s a lot of other mistakes that [were] made along the way… [but] I think that was the key.’ 

‘The U.S. military is responsible for supporting the State Department in a non-combatant evacuation operation, however, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from a combat theater as it relates to an act of war is the responsibility of the Department of Defense, and at the end of the day, we did not leave a residual force behind,’ Alex Pritsas, a former counterterrorism official at the Defense Department, told Fox News Digital. 

Milley said in congressional testimony in June 2021 that the U.S. would not see scenes reminiscent of the fall of Saigon in Vietnam, where U.S. personnel were being airlifted from rooftops.

‘I don’t see Saigon 1975 in Afghanistan. The Taliban just aren’t the North Vietnamese Army.’

Milley’s pardon was part of a group of preemptive pardons that included Anthony Fauci and members of the January 6th Committee. 

‘My family and I are deeply grateful for the President’s action today,’  Milley said in reaction to the pardon. 

He went on: ‘After 43 years of faithful service in uniform to our nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights. I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety.’

Jerry Dunleavy, former top investigator on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Afghanistan probe, told Fox News Digital of the pardon: ‘Milley wrongly dismissed the obviously correct comparison between the fall of Saigon and the impending fall of Kabul, massively inflated size of the Afghan forces, woefully underestimated the speed and scope of Taliban district control, then pushed fiction that Afghanistan fell in only 11 days.

‘After a disaster where 13 troops were murdered at Abbey Gate and the Taliban regained power, Milley then wrongly predicted Ukraine would fall to the Russians in just three days,’ he added, referring to remarks Milley made in a closed-door briefing with lawmakers. 

Related Topics

Afghanistan
Joe Biden
Foreign Policy

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
White House website now lists Trump as president, removes Biden, Harris content
next post
Dems promise to ‘stand up to’ Trump but laud ‘peaceful transfer of power’ after speech

related articles

James Comer praises Kash Patel for ‘holding deep...

August 22, 2025

Trump DOJ to begin handing over Epstein files...

August 22, 2025

TikTok isn’t enough to stop Gen Z from...

August 22, 2025

Trump administration wins Supreme Court fight to slash...

August 22, 2025

Zelenskyy seeks ‘strong reaction’ from US if Putin...

August 22, 2025

Pentagon unveils new medal for troops deployed in...

August 21, 2025

Federal judge rules Trump appointee Alina Habba is...

August 21, 2025

‘Maine’s Mamdani’: Maine GOP chief issues warning about...

August 21, 2025

‘There are 50 swamps’: State Freedom Caucus Network...

August 21, 2025

Trump-aligned legal group probes Biden-era organ transplant program...

August 21, 2025
Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News, And Articles.


Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

Latest News

  • Trump administration cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts, documents show

    February 27, 2025
  • Tesla stock sinks as Musk and Trump ridicule each other

    June 8, 2025
  • USDCHF and USDJPY: New Targets and Prices for the New Week

    October 14, 2024
  • Denmark PM repeats Greenland ‘not for sale,’ but would welcome more American troops on Arctic island

    February 4, 2025
  • European officials dismiss claim world leaders ‘are laughing’ at Trump, praise his ‘strong message’

    September 29, 2024

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Secret Service admits leaning on ‘state and local partners’ after claim it ignored Trump team’s past requests

    July 21, 2024
  • 2

    Five more House Democrats call on Biden to drop out, third US senator

    July 19, 2024
  • 3

    Elon and Vivek should tackle US funding for this boondoogle organization and score a multimillion dollar win

    December 4, 2024
  • 4

    Forex Profit Calculator: Maximize Your Trading Potential

    July 10, 2024
  • 5

    Biden calls to ‘lower the temperature’ then bashes Trump in NAACP speech

    July 17, 2024

Categories

  • Economy (829)
  • Editor's Pick (5,786)
  • Investing (634)
  • Stock (894)

Latest Posts

  • Foreign policy experts rip Tim Walz’s claim that China has ‘moral authority’ in Middle East conflict

    June 20, 2025
  • Biden to meet with national security team ahead of anticipated Iranian attack against Israel

    August 5, 2024
  • Comer probes NGOs that received $20B in Biden EPA grants despite almost no revenue: ‘Shady deal’

    March 27, 2025

Recent Posts

  • Trump transition team asks 3 State Department officials to resign: report

    January 16, 2025
  • North Korea slams Rubio’s ‘rogue state’ label as ‘nonsense,’ vows to push back against Trump administration

    February 3, 2025
  • Netanyahu’s meeting at White House moved amid Biden’s COVID recovery, Harris campaigning

    July 23, 2024

Editor’s Pick

  • Armenia and Azerbaijan leaders seek to ease Russian and Iranian concerns after US-brokered peace deal

    August 14, 2025
  • Biden admin extends $10B Iran sanctions waiver 2 days after Trump election win

    December 11, 2024
  • Is XRP a Good Investment? Expert Insights for 2024

    July 12, 2024
  • About us
  • Contacts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Disclaimer: moneyrisetoday.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Copyright © 2025 moneyrisetoday.com | All Rights Reserved

Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock