[December 28, 2021] The image of U.S. Army Gen. Chris Donahue departing Afghanistan will forever connect his actions to America’s ignominious retreat from Afghanistan. Major Gen. Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, stepped aboard a C-17 transport and left Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 30, 2021.
History will not be kind to those in senior leadership positions that made or supported the decision to make a sudden, unannounced retreat. Losing a war by giving up when you have the best military in the world is tantamount to treason perpetuated on an innocent public.
Betrayal is the first word that comes to my mind; betrayal to the people of America, citizens of Afghanistan, to our Allies, and the world. Some folks will argue the point, but only the dumbest will do so because it is hard to ignore reality.
If you see evil and do nothing about it, you are part of the problem.
I write this article at the end of December to go on record, again, that I strongly oppose the way President Joe Biden retreated from Afghanistan. Of course, I have no say, but I do have the obligation to remind people that an evil was done here and those associated with this evil had better be part of the solution or are in league with it.
President Joe Biden, Gen. Mark Milley, SecDef Lloyd Austin, and those directly in decision-making should forever be tied to America’s failure and the rise of the Taliban. They have directly supported arming and encouraging more evil than they know about. I believe, frankly, these men don’t care.
What should they have done if they disagreed with President Biden? They should have recommended against this dangerous withdrawal in the strongest possible terms. If they did not do everything within their authority to stop the retreat, they should throw their stars on the President’s desk and resign.1
Alas, failure to resign will enhance their careers but at the cost of failing to do something about evil. And, that is what our problem is today with senior military officers and why the American public no longer trusts the U.S. military.2,3
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- https://nypost.com/2021/08/30/ex-military-officers-call-for-austin-milley-to-resign/
- https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/trust-in-military-collapsing-wokeness/
- Remember Vietnam and our retreat from that war. The loss of trust and confidence in our military took decades to overcome. https://www.theleadermaker.com/u-s-retreating-from-afghanistan-redux/
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Please read my new book, “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” at Amazon (link here).
According to the sworn testimony of military commanders involved in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, senior White House and State Department officials failed to grasp the Taliban’s steady advance on Afghanistan’s capital and resisted efforts by U.S. military leaders to prepare the evacuation of embassy personnel and Afghan allies weeks before Kabul’s fall. The result was the perilous, chaotic, and ultimately deadly withdrawal that stunned America. SHOCKING!
Biden inflicted untold damage on the free world by his catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, demonstrating to America’s enemies and friends alike that, under his administration, the US was no longer willing to stand by its allies nor to protect its own vital national interests. Dumb and dumber Biden continues his reign of destroying the free peoples of the world.
I certainly will never forget that Pres Biden and his handlers made a mockery of our nation and left allies in the lurch. Anyone who cannot see this, is a fool. And a fool that helps lead to the destruction of our nation. Pres Biden is a failed president and he deserves all the derisive comments we can muster. Vote the hack out of office.
You got that right, Steve. Kick him in the butt but wipe your foot off after. Hahahahahaha
Funny but too serious of a problem to make light of.
Right, but never ever ever forget the destruction wrought by this man.
We will never forget. The shame brought upon us will take decades to remove.
Gen. Satterfield wrote, “President Joe, Biden, Gen. Mark Milley, SecDef Lloyd Austin, Maj. Gen. Donahue and those directly in decision-making should forever be tied to America’s failure and the rise of the Taliban. They have directly supported arming and encouraging more evil than they know about. I believe, frankly, these men don’t care.” Just a quick comment, I don’t think they lack caring but are more interested in their personal careers and lack the incentives to do the right thing.
Good point McS. Gen. S has given us something to think about and has named names … good.
Wishing everyone here on this leadership blog a very Happy New Year and many blessings as we go into another challenging year under political leadership that is wanting in every respect. Let us get beyond the divisions among us stoked by a bumbling president and idiot VP. Thanks all for your comments and help.
That means a lot of work and a lot of pain. But stand up to those who would try to cancel you.
“The image of U.S. Army Gen. Chris Donahue departing Afghanistan will forever connect his actions to America’s ignominious retreat from Afghanistan.” and people falling from Air Force transport planes. Just like the helicopter flying off the roof of our embassy in Vietnam, another US President has failed us.
Ignominious Retreat. Perfect title. For that is what it was. And the tragedy has just begun.
Remember the folks at ARK SALUS. Americans helping other Americans and those who are our allies.
https://www.arksalus.org/
We are a group of private American citizens and former U.S. Special Operations advisors with unique expertise, driven by a moral obligation to assist and protect the Afghans who assisted and protected us.
…. contribute money to their effort if you can ….
Thanks to all of our readers of this website and have a happy New Year. Let’s all work to solving our own problems ASAP, then we can be a better nation.
Yes, give what you can to this worthy cause. ✔
Hi Oakie. Are you really from OK, Oklahoma? I went to the Univ. of Oklahoma. Great place to live and study.
Those who read this leadership blog need to understand that it is written to help open your mind to ideas that are not always easy to see, nor to accept. The ideas are based on decades of military experience of service to the nation and years of combat. Read these words with this in mind. What is written here is nothing to dismiss but to embrace. Follow this site for new ideas about how to succeed and have a good life.
RED, great to have you back. I hope you continue to beat the crap out of stupid politicians and I am looking to your next article.
Folks, don’t forget that today is the first day of the rest of your life and thus you need to use it for the right cause. Gen. Satterfield has given us a look inside the corruption of our military and is naming names. Never forget that today we recognize one of the greatest foreign affairs and military failures of our history as a nation just occured a few months ago. That stain will be with us for centuries and the impact will not be pretty.
There is death and misery at the end of that problem. Yeah, I get it, US President Joe Biden fucked up … or as we say in the military … FUBAR. Yeah, he is evil for that action and his continuation of blaming everyone else for his FU. Disgusting president is an understatement.
Pow, tell us what you think. Sadly, I agree. Pres. Brandon is an epic failure.
Hi Army Vet, wonderful to hear from you again. RED is also on today. Wow, great day when you believe it important enough to comment on Gen. Satterfield’s blog. Wow. When will you write your next article?
Well said, Max and once again you put icing on the proverbial cake. Hey, what do you think about no-action VP K-a-m-l-a Harris? Not much, I would hazard a guess.
Ignorance incarnate.
Thanks Gen. Satterfield. I liked today’s article. One of your best.
“If you see evil and do nothing about it, you are part of the problem.” Best quote of the year by Gen. Satterfield.
You got that right, Rowen. And the idea that we pass by evil and do nothing is not, in itself, a new sentiment. We humans don’t like controversy. But we need to stand up and say something when we see something bad. Stand up folks, don’t sit on your behind or like Pres. Biden sit in your basement.
History will not be kind to the military for two reasons, 1) they failed and withdrew in chaos (even if was Pres Biden’s decision) and 2) the liberals are always on the attack against the US military.
I agree with you Ernest…. libs are attacking our military and now have managed, under Biden/Harris, to infect it with the PC ideology. That is why we see, as an example, the US Marines celebrating gay pride and using the gay flag. What in the world has gay pride to do with defending the United States? Answer, nothing at all.
Ernest, well said and for me that is rather obvious. Thanks.
It may be obvious to you and me but the vast majority of Americans that is not so obvious. that is why we need to hammer that message repeatedly so that folks get it. 😊
Good point folks. Thanks. Great article by Gen. Satterfield today.