Top US general says he feels 'pain and anger' after Afghanistan withdrawal
Sep 02, 2021
Washington [US], September 2 : As the US completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday (local time) said that he has "pain and anger" seeing what has happened in the war-torn country over the last 20 years.
"When we see what has unfolded over the last 20 years and over the last 20 days, that creates pain and anger. And mine comes from 242 of my soldiers killed in action over 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. So yeah, I have that. But I'm a professional soldier. I'm going to contain my pain and anger, and continue to execute my mission," CNN quoted Milley as saying.
"I have all the same emotions, and I'm sure the secretary does, and anyone who served. And I commanded troops. And I wasn't born a four-star general. I have walked the patrols and been blown up and shot at and RPG'd and everything else. My pain and anger come from the same as those grieving families, the same as those soldiers that are on the ground," he added.
The United States forces left Afghanistan on Tuesday morning, marking the end of a chaotic and messy exit from America's longest war.
Earlier, US Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin III said that the United States has evacuated about 6,000 American citizens and a total of more than 124,000 civilians from Afghnaistan.
Austin also honours those who died over the course of the war in Afghanistan. "Our forces risked their own lives to save the lives of others, and 13 of our very best, paid the ultimate price," he said.
