Austin Scott Miller, a retired American general and former commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, says he was very dissatisfied and angry with the way the US mission in Afghanistan ended.
In an interview with ABC News, Miller said that the fall of Kabul and the chaotic withdrawal of American forces, especially saying goodbye to his Afghan friends and colleagues, were among the most difficult parts of the mission. He said that he had known some of these people for 10 to 15 years and felt “betrayed” when they left.
He also described the chaotic situation at Kabul airport and the deadly explosion there as very shocking, saying the event almost knocked him out.
Miller also compared the images of Afghans trying to get to the planes as American planes departed to images of the September 11, 2001 attacks, saying that these scenes were very painful for him.
According to him, the United States did not take the dangers in Afghanistan seriously enough and could have transferred a number of people who were supposed to leave Afghanistan to another country before the situation worsened.
