'While Trump and Pompeo have taken their shots at Biden, some of the key players Trump tapped to carry out his planned withdrawal are actually praising Biden for finishing a job they say Trump started,' writes JonKarl.
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"The fact is this was the Trump-Biden withdrawal," said William Ruger, tapped by Trump to be U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan in September 2020.President Donald Trump speaks to the troops during a surprise Thanksgiving day visit at Bagram Air Field, Nov. 28, 2019, in Afghanistan. Last November, Trump installed MacGregor as a senior adviser to the secretary of defense, with marching orders to push military leaders to get all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan."He made very clear to me that he shared my views," MacGregor told ABC News."And he said, 'I've got to get you in here. Because I agree with you. We need to get out of these places. There's no reason to be in any of them.
The withdrawal order horrified top military leaders, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and CENTCOM commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie. The purge was spearheaded by McEntee, whom Trump made personnel director in February 2020. Trump ultimately made major changes at the Pentagon, including the ouster of a secretary of defense, Esper, who opposed withdrawal.MORE: Biden defends Afghanistan withdrawal, recommits to evacuate remaining Americans
So, when Trump told supporters in an Aug. 22 statement that President Biden gave"enemies all around the world a great and lasting victory when he unexpectedly and inexplicably removed our great soldiers from Afghanistan before taking out our U.S. citizens and allies, along with abandoning many billions of dollars of highest-grade Military equipment," he had had no plan to do anything differently.
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