As the debate in DC over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan continues, worth remembering what happened last November: outside of the official channels, Trump's former body man & others drafted a rapid U.S. withdrawal memo, as @jonathanvswan reported. And Trump signed it.
Swan reported that out with @zacharybasu:
axios.com/off-the-rails-…
Months later, @realBobWoodward and I included the text of the memo in PERIL: "... no later than 15 January 2021. Inform all allied and partner forces of the directives."
cnn.com/2021/09/14/pol…
axios.com/off-the-rails-…
Months later, @realBobWoodward and I included the text of the memo in PERIL: "... no later than 15 January 2021. Inform all allied and partner forces of the directives."
cnn.com/2021/09/14/pol…
"What do you mean you have no idea? You're the national security adviser to the President?" Milley responded. "And the secretary of defense didn't know about this? ... How the hell does this happen?"
cnn.com/2021/09/14/pol…
cnn.com/2021/09/14/pol…
Our reporting shows that this episode was a pivot point and alarmed top national security officials for several reasons: Trump was showing his willingness to avoid consultations with them on major military decisions, all as he lashed out in a fury about his defeat...
and it could prompt sweeping, potentially catastrophic consequences in Afghanistan during an already fraught presidential transition
While some of the discussion of PERIL has focused on the Trump chapters, the Biden decision on Afghanistan, which was shaped, in part, by his own career and the lingering effects of Trump's decisions, is a critical part of the book and shows how presidencies can be intertwined.
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