Donald Trump has expressed his desire to “fire every single” U.S. general involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal, calling it a “botched operation.” During a cabinet meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump stated, “They’re going to be largely gone.” He later added, “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.”
The withdrawal, executed in August 2021 under President Joe Biden, led to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government as the Taliban seized power. While the Biden administration defended the decision, citing an agreement negotiated by Trump in 2020, critics argue that the exit was poorly managed, resulting in chaos at Kabul’s airport and the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in a suicide bombing.
Hegseth confirmed that a full review of the withdrawal is underway and stated, “We plan to have full accountability.” However, it remains unclear how many of the military officials involved in the operation are still in active service.
Biden has repeatedly defended his decision, saying the U.S. had “fulfilled its mission” and that staying in Afghanistan would have required sending thousands of additional troops into combat. Meanwhile, Trump continues to blame Biden for how the withdrawal was handled, despite the initial agreement to leave being made during his own administration.
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