general, has always stressed that commanders on the ground should be listened to. would you agree with that? i would and i would tell you they were listened to. i think there is a difference between us having an opportunity to have a voice and i think it s very important that the military has a voice. but i firmly believe in we re required to give our best military advice but the decision makers are not required in any manner, shape or form to follow that advice. i agree with you about civilian control of this country. but i think it is also important to realize when we continue to see missteps by an administration that is costing lives. secretary austin, it has been reported right now that the biden administration reached out to russia about using russian bases in the central asian nations bordering afghanistan to the north for
dana: pent up demand. hearing today and another one in the senate and tomorrow in the house. here the players. you have it ready. joint chiefs chairman mark milley, lloyd austin and centcom commander general mckenzie and be pressed whether president biden ignored their advice leading to the chaos in afghanistan. bill: so many images seared into our mem re. six weeks ago yesterday afghans clinging to a parting u.s. cargo jet. some of them falling to their deaths on that tarmac. dana: parents handing over newborn daughters and sons desperate to get them as far as possible from the taliban. bill: days before the august 30th withdrawal deadline an isis suicide bombing targeted the crowd outside the airport. 13 american service members killed, two women. dana: lawmakers will press the generals on a retaliatory drone strike. the pentagon claimed it killed terrorists responsible for that bombing. we later found out it wasn t true. the victims were 10 innocent civilians, most childre
directing the united states military to withdrawal all forces from afghanistan, no later than 15 january 2021. after further discussions regarding the risks associated with such a withdrawal, the order was rescinded. on 17 november, we received a new order, to reduce levels to 2,500, plus enabling forces, no later than 15 january. when president biden was inaugurated, there were approximately 3,500 u.s. troops, 5,400 nato troops, and 6300 contractors in afghanistan, with a specified task of train, advise, and assist, along with a small contingent of counterterrorism forces. the strategic situation at inauguration was stalemate. the biden administration through the national security council process conducted a rigorous interagency review of the situation in afghanistan in february, march, and april.
morning in anticipation for that onslaught of the 15,000 strong caravan. you see behind me where the migrants are checking in but also the national guard called in for the crowd control to make sure things remain under the civil protection that they want here as these migrants try to get their refugee status and work papers. one of the migrants we talked to was ?aimd stephenson and he has a message for president biden. i would like it for president biden, haiti bill: will you go back to haiti? no, never. never. there is anger towards the biden administration for sending a mixed message. you see migrants still wearing the same biden let us in t-shirts we saw in tijuana in march. they see their fellow countrymen being deported.
but that started to be to be fair that started long before doha. some commentators suggested that since 2014 the taliban have been surrounding provision capitals, insinuating themselves into the politics of the local communities, striking bargains. is that your impression, too, general mckenzie? sir, it is a good assessment from 2014 on the taliban did pursue that strategy and had some success. the government of afghanistan also had success holding onto to population centers but the taliban pursued a strategy and had some success with it. now, general secretary austin, you did provide your best military advice to the president regarding the situation in afghanistan and that has been recounted several times. there were multiple meetings