why that will not stand because we all have what’s more people as a country and we have
military experts who they’re
like. Colonel Chris Douglas of
the Marines is lieutenant
colonel colonel colonel
to you what when I met you what
had occurred when I met you I
was a lieutenant colonel I just
got back from Afghanistan and
>> then you would to a rock and
then I went to Iraq and I went
back to Afghanistan right over
tires, colonel, they know that
to the K shun, not a
vacation so they they just when
you about a
>> colonel they say hey we need
you. So and we need you in in
cutter because that’s we’re
going to be evacuating. Those
who are lucky enough to get in
these cargo jets. I need you
screen people because we’re
leaving Afghanistan could you
bring us through that time.
>> Yes so I was 30 years
mandatory service which
required for us to retire at
that point is Marine officers.
My boss had asked if I would
remain because of my experience
with Afghanistan
and for the pen potential that
if he went forward is a 3 star
headquarters you wanted to you
know we wanted to work together
that said
you know the decision was made
for him to retire and not to go
forward. I went forward to
Qatar you know with no,
although I wanted to go forward
to of Ghana stand general
mckenzie had seen the chaos
that was coming out of
Afghanistan and made the
decision to put a Marine
evacuation coordination center.
you know one of things Marines
do in a noncombat nap
evacuations this team works
to process evacuees and so that
was to the team,
myself and another Marine my
team and sent in marine Central
command went forward and work
the coordination you know the
joint force units over there.
So when I watch us Germany does
because after was all said and
done you a part of a team.
>> send team. Our our own
armies are said to be arson I’m
trying to get the names down
our son kameen so years Marine
were helping out army
to evaluate what went wrong
after what you guys wrote a
pretty extensive report 150
pages barring some pictures may
be a bit more right with a
number of enclosures you know
you have you know what happened
the buzz much as anybody in the
country from what you have
studied and witnessed was that
anything like what was talked
about yesterday and what’s been
released to the general public
in
12 pages.
>> Now right, I mean the
unclassified report that was
released and was is available
on the central command Web page
it frankly, Daniel Moffatt
Smothers did some great
research into that you know
that’s kind of fallen off the
radar. Know this is this a
completely it contrary to some
of the information came out and
essentially Trump’s fall day he
gives the plants and hospitals
work with the have a meeting
they tell let some prisoners at
bagram so we had to really get
this timeline it would have
been back at war is that
accurate.
>> I don’t.
>> I don’t believe that Brian
and so you no longer paraphrase
something that you would said
earlier which is you know
you can’t delegate
responsibility but you can’t
delegate accountability.
The Trump administration’s you
know gone and so they did you
know while they had set the
conditions. You know that you
know one may was the you know
expected withdrawal date
that was Mike pence has made to
his conditions based conditions
based is is exactly right
and so and believe it you know
general 4 star general so it’s
a special operations general
rich Clark, who testified that
he Taliban are not meeting the
conditions of the agreement.
I mean you know there’s a
warrior who there said it’s
this is not happening.
You can’t get be any more clear
than that in a conditions based
withdrawal when you have a
senior leader of that says
not happening and gentle
mcclintock and he was pretty
clear in that as well do you
think that has anything to do
with why general that was a
general Miller.
>> 10 Joe Miller left the scene
because he was in charge was a
knee.
>> He was in charge and I mean
when you’re you know absolute
leader understanding of
Afghanistan and you know I I
would I would love to get his
perspective because of the
respect I have for him and the
amount of knowledge he has we
lost 13 couple dozen wounded a
170 minimum Afghans blown
dismisses smithereens all right
abbi gate because we decided we
only want to
have the airport we didn’t want
Kabul. We were asked by the
Taliban leaders are said no not
going to do that.
>> Didn’t feel we have the
forces but just as a civilian
when you could get 7,000 to
10,000 people in a few days.
I imagine we could have taken
the capital. But it looks like
the Army collapsed and ghani
left with a lot of our money by
the way.
So here’s a little bit with
John Kirby was saying yesterday
cut 3.
>> And so for all this talk of
chaos. I just didn’t see it not
from
my perch at one point during
the evacuation do is an
aircraft taking off full of
people, Americans and Afghans
alike every 48 minutes and not
one single mission was missed
so I’m sorry I just don’t buy
the whole argument of chaos.
It was tough in the first few
hours you would expect that to
be there was nobody at the
airport. Certainly no Americans
it took time to get in.
>> This is he’s you F ing but
is he serious it’s serious you
see this video it defines chaos
laugh because I want to cry.
>> And I mean mainly sense but
the you know the reality of it
is a 0 mention of Afghans
falling off see 7 teens are
being trapped in the wheel
wells that requires the aircrew
to scrape them out.
horrific. Upon their lives but
the perimeter of the airport.
the perimeter of the airport is
as we know from the
investigation. There you know
the the airport was breached by
evacuees. You There’s 0
mentioned in that
as well of the engagements with
with the Taliban and in some
cases likely unknown but Isis
fighters until general mckenzie
makes the makes the deal with
the Taliban of hey look you
know this isn’t happening.
>> you
>> we’re going to coordinate
with the security you’re going
to establish security around
we’re going to clear the air
field and and so.
>> The reality of it is you
have the combat operations
center.
>> That that all that the key
leaders. The key leadership all
had to vacate
doing command and control to
get out to assist pushing
Afghans because they were
overrun. There are more
evacuees. Then there were
service members to keep him off
the air field. So.
>> But don’t worry you guarded
by the Taliban they provide you
security think about that for a
minute. I mean to head how did
that make sense he didn’t have
enough they fell to hold Kabul
because you had heard
so they say let’s just have the
Taliban watch the airport take
over Kabul.
>> And so that was a huge
paradigm shift for me Brian,
because you know as you know,
I’d I’ve been an adviser in
Afghanistan twice for the we’re
leaving Afghanistan in 2014, it
was supported by the vice
president and the president
that time the vice president
being president. Biden or
VP Biden and 2018 when we had
to go back for that and so the
paradigm shift for me was
how is it that we have the
Taliban providing security and
the reality of it is we had to
now, here’s the problem though,
is
what the what the Taliban
needed was clear and concise.
He struck out instructions.
So that we can let these people
through gentle Mackenzie’s
guidance was was frankly was
pretty clear. He said every
everybody that comes into the
airport will be screened
by a member of the Taliban and
you know knowing that there was
a the potential for a threat.
We was the State Department.
>> So that’s that that as we
saw in the investigation so the
remembers that rotated through
so you’ve got Marines that are
providing security and then
ultimately looking for
we know passport, holders and
they’d come up and they And
this is all from the
investigation. They were in
members of the State Department
you know and not the same
people every time but in small
numbers will come up basically
during working hours. All the
Marines are working and Sir
armed soldiers with the 82nd
and the airmen and sailors are
working 24 hours a day the
State Department representative
to come up, and they we’re
just us passport holders.
Now we’re taking green card and
somebody else is a green cards
to many of Embassy personnel.
So we also say you know special
immigrant visas, here’s the
problem. Each time that
requires coordination with a
member of the Taliban who is on
the outside. And so you’ve got
somebody
you know you know with limited
education these are the guys
have been fighting for 20 years
right the guys are fighting for
20 years that a little
frustrated 20 minutes, you know
dealing with it we’re here and
and so you know they the the
service members that are
surrounding the airfield
through the great work of Leon,
I’m gonna say the coordination
John mckenzie general Donahue
and others to establish this
this really this working
relationship. They’re getting
screened by these members but
now because of the changing
requirements to allow people in
you’ve got those same people
having a go to the Taliban and
say hey now we’re going to
allow these people in and
finally they get to the point
where the like on a carefree
George F ing Bush,
you’re not we’re not letting
anybody in but you were getting
calls from the White House and
vi piece to let certain people
and so as a course of the
interview what we found was at
all levels. The
the amount of pressure and
significant pressure. Coming
from the president first lady.
In some cases representatives
of the pope elected officials
you know general hope the pope
the pope.
A representative for the pope
called in and explained.
The importance of getting a
specific group of individuals
out. And so you know with
criteria is changing criteria
like that in the I P request
pouring in the I P request
pouring in. So you know
volatile on certain
chaotic in ambiguous
circumstances now you’ve got
this and then you’ve got
Mister Kirby talking about a
force protection was the
mayor’s priority. But let’s be
let’s be perfectly clear when
you’ve got that much pressure
and that much input and that
many phone calls. You know
you it’s taken up a
lot of time and this well I
think we’re going to come back
we have decent side segment of
the other side.
>> Once the of action has been
initiated president Biden
repeatedly gave the clear
direction to prioritize
force protection. And basically
what he keeps saying yesterday
is this was the plan that was
left we had no choice but
to leave and do the Trump plan
since the Doha agreement was in
place. I’m gonna I’m going to
see if of colonel Douglas is
Talk show
Talk show that’s real. This is the Brian kilmeade show
I want to share my personal
recommendation to the
president.
>> But I will give you my
honest opinion in my honest
opinion interview shake my
recommendation. I recommended
that we maintain 2,500 troops
in Afghanistan. And I but also
recommended earlier in the fall
of 2020 that we will maintain
4,500 that time. Those are my
personal views. I also have a
view that the withdrawal of
those forces would lead
inevitably to the collapse of
the Afghan military forces and
eventually the Afghan
government.
>> So the president according
to his spokesperson admiral
Kirby was never told that was
never told that the Afghan army
would collapse.
If we pulled out that inquiry
that according to the 12 page
summary of was supposed to be
an extensive report and
everything that went wrong in
Afghanistan with me right now
is a guy that study told us he
was part of a task force of
under 10 people to put together
a comprehensive look and
everything that took place in
went wrong in the in the
aftermath in leading up to the
leaving Afghanistan. It Colonel
Chris Douglas now retired
who spent a lot of that time in
cutter processing people seeing
all the problems was was back
and see true to his word with
that his recommendation from
your research.
>> So that So our research
didn’t cover that wasn’t part
of the scope of the
investigation board I can tell
you is this because that was a
Marine Central command which is
subordinate to central command.
I I know that you know I know
that you know
indirectly in and kind of
directly from the meetings that
that was general Mackenzie’s
view.
>> He said the president say
never got advice and said that
was going to happen
that means mckenzie Millie and
Austin are all lying in closed
testimony. He’s never been
called the count to this how
how did the president said
nobody briefed him on that.
>> From what you know is it
possible. The military didn’t
tell him this could happen.
I yeah there’s no way it
there’s no way it’s possible.
I mean you know what was coming
back in anyone Brian let let
let’s look back to 2014.
>> Mean where you would you
know you give a report about
the effectiveness of the Afghan
security forces.
They say they are affected with
Advisors. There’s a difference
between being effective that
means operate on their own fact
with Advisors
that means they need some sort
of stability and support there
in order to
execute operations.
>> So I tell you what we left
behind is so sickening
7 billion dollars worth of
weapons and equipment. We
know this 23,825 Humvees with
gun variance 900 combat
vehicles. We also left him I
didn’t know this 250,000 auto
maker rifles 95 drones.
>> And more than a million
mortar rounds. The require
little training to use. Here’s
John Kirby he knows exactly who
to cut 5.
>> Do not underestimate the
affected the Doha agreement had
and the morale and the.
Willingness
to fight on the
Afghan national security
defense forces in it. It had it
had a very
corrosive effect their
willingness to continue to
fight for their country.
No we didn’t see that.
We do see that part of the
reason we didn’t see that is
because we couldn’t see the
plants. The previous
administration allegedly worked
on and during the transition.
No as I said in my opening
statement, none of these plans
were forthcoming.
>> And God he came to the White
House and asked for is just
leave the contracts. No no no.
He says he didn’t see it your
thoughts and his conclusion.
>> Blows my mind that that’s
that goes back into the
accountability and
responsibility like you know
case of the previous
administration didn’t leave you
plan. Well DOD was doing
planning and by their own
admission. You know the State
Department it’s not like they
just want to just picked up
planning at that point.
And even if there was
no plan OK well you own at that
point why would you leave
without a plan and so in his
own in his own discussion going
back to when he run for
president he talked about Iraq
and how we take a year to leave
Iraq.
>> You know the U.S. forces
getting earlier run in his
earlier run for president and
how if we left all the weapons
in quit equipment which route
you know our grand killed
children we pay for
that that that would take 7
months but that would be bad
because we ve seen or grandkids
to see those weapons now that
said how is it that he forgot
that this many years later
evidently general Keane said he
knows people that the there he
was a smart is one of the room
he was I was.
>> Upping all the military
people that we’re trying to
tell them stuff you never trust
the military and now he’s he’s
saying every advise me how bad