Thread by @JerryDunleavy

I wrote the book on the Afghan debacle & spent years pursuing answers & accountability. Hegseth made clear today that holding DoD & generals accountable for their 2021 failures is top priority as SecDef. It’s exactly what the troops, vets, & public deserve. Here’s what he said.🧵

Hegseth to Jim Banks: “It’s shameful. They still tout it as the most successful airlift in American history, when what the rest of us saw what was true laid before our eyes. Utter failure. A destruction of a military legacy there. Abandonment of our allies. Death of American troops. Detriment to our reputation. And then no answers and no accountability on the other side. And then what was unleashed because of what happened in Afghanistan? The October 7th attacks, an invasion into Ukraine. The world recognized weakness for what it was. And who bore the brunt of it? The troops on the frontlines at Abbey Gate doing an impossible job whose external security was the Taliban because there was no actual plan for this under the Biden Administration. And yet the only person held accountable in those moments was a Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who had the courage to stand up and say someone should be held accountable for that. His name is Stu Scheller. No one else involved has ever taken accountability for it. When that microcosm becomes the reality of the perception of the American military or America’s commitment to victory and success and positive outcomes, the world responds to that. President Trump is going to restore real deterrence by bringing a real warrior culture back, rebuilding our military, and ending wars properly — and if we have to fight them, winning them decisively.” 2/x

Hegseth to Jack Reed: “Senator, you mentioned the word ‘accountability’ — which is something we’ve not had the last four years… There’s been no accountability for the disaster of the withdrawal in Afghanistan, and that’s precisely why we’re here today — is that leadership has been unwilling to take accountability. It’s the time to restore that to our most senior ranks.” 3/x

Hegseth to Tom Cotton: “Our troops, as you know, as so many on this Committee know, did the best they could with what they had. Tragically, the outcome we saw in Afghanistan under the Biden Administration but a stain on that, but it doesn’t put a stain on what those men and women did in uniform.” 4/x

Hegseth to Rick Scott: “Under the Biden Administration, Afghanistan collapsed, tragically, ensued the lives of thirteen at Abbey Gate who we remember every single day — and no one was held accountable for that.” 5/x

Hegseth to Kevin Cramer: “On day one, on January 20th when President Trump is sworn in, he will issue a new set of lawful orders, and the leadership of our services will have an opportunity to follow those orders or not. Those lawful orders will not be based on politics — they will be based on readiness, accountability, standards, and lethality. That is the process by which leaders will be judged. And accountability is coming. Because everybody in this room knows, if you’re a rifleman & you lose your rifle, they’re throwing the book at you. But if you’re a general who loses a war, you get a promotion. That’s not going to happen in Donald Trump’s Pentagon. There will be real standards for success. Everyone from the most senior general to the lowly private, we’ll ensure they are treated fairly — men and women — inside that system.” 6/6

(And keep in mind that Hegseth was banging the drum about accountability for the military brass for their Afghan failures long before today’s confirmation — I highly recommend his book, especially these fiery passages calling DoD out for dodging its share of responsibility.)👇

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