In a strong statement at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump called for the dismissal of “every single one” of the military generals involved in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Seated alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump was asked about the possibility of firing or relieving the military officers responsible for the chaotic and deadly withdrawal, which marked the end of the U.S. military presence in the country after two decades.
“I’m not going to tell this man what to do, but I will say that if I had his place, I’d fire every single one of them,” Trump said, gesturing towards Hegseth. In response, Hegseth assured that the Pentagon was conducting a comprehensive review of the withdrawal and would hold those involved accountable for their actions.
Trump also used the occasion to repeat his demand for the return of U.S. military equipment left behind during the withdrawal, claiming that billions of dollars’ worth of brand-new gear, including trucks and rifles, had been abandoned. “I think they should give our equipment back. And I told Pete to study that,” he said. “We left tens of billions of dollars worth of equipment behind. Brand new trucks. You see them display it every year, on their little roadways.”
He further asserted that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) was selling the military weapons and equipment, turning the country into “one of the biggest sellers of military equipment in the world.” Trump pointed to the reported sale of 777,000 rifles and 70,000 armored trucks as evidence of this booming trade.
Additionally, Trump expressed his belief that the U.S. should have maintained control over Bagram Air Base, once the largest American military base in Afghanistan. Trump has repeatedly claimed that China’s People’s Liberation Army now controls the former U.S. base, though China and the Islamic Emirate have both denied this allegation.
The Islamic Emirate has insisted that the U.S. military equipment left behind belongs to the Afghan people and will not be returned.
