On 19 October 2026 the Washington Post ran this below article about the utter debacle of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal (a polite euphemism for abandonment) in accordance with the previsions of the first term Trump negotiated Doha Agreement. In the best traditions of revisionist historians, it seems the Trump Administration led by none other than Secretary of Defense (aka War) Pete Hegseth, Arguably the Worst Secretary of Defense in the past 76 Years who Is Busy Replacing Our Military’s Most Competent Leaders with Clearly Inferior Replacements (https://old-soldier-colonel.blogspot.com/2026/06/pete-hegseth-arguably-worst-secretary.html), really wants to begin playing the “blame game” without realizing there is plenty of blame to go around and a lot of it is Trump’s. Next below is a taste of the WaPo article and below that is comment this Old Colonel posted in the article’s comment section explaining why Hegseth is cull of crap. ENJOY
Military leaders brace
for release of Hegseth’s Afghanistan review
President Donald Trump focused on the deadly withdrawal of U.S. forces during his 2024 campaign, vowing to hold people accountable for decisions made under the Biden administration.
By Dan Lamothe1 9 October 2026
Current and former U.S. military leaders are bracing for the Trump administration to release its review of the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan as soon as this month, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would revive public discourse of the 20-year war’s traumatic end days ahead of the midterm elections.
The review, directed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, includes interviews with numerous top officers who oversaw aspects of the military’s departure and the chaotic evacuation operation launched upon the Afghan government’s collapse five years ago.
The article goes on to discuss the “Blame Game” Hegseth is trying to play shifting all the responsibility for the Afghanistan airlift debacle to the Biden Administration. Between 14 and 30 August 2021, the US alone evacuated over 122,000 people from Hamid Karzai International Airport including US citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and other vulnerable Afghans. The evacuation was completed on August 30, one day before a deadline agreed upon with the Taliban.
30-years-a-Soldier (WaPo Comments Section comment for this article)
If Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth really wants to begin playing the blame game, note this passage in this article: “Milley and McKenzie also have told Congress that Trump’s agreement with the Taliban, made in 2020 during his first presidency, to remove all U.S. troops by spring 2021 played a significant role in the Afghan government’s eventual collapse.” I wrote this Blog article back in August 2021: “The Old Colonel’s reaction to the Marine Lieutenant Colonel who resigned because he didn’t like the Commander-in-Chief’s Afghanistan Withdrawal Decision” ( https://old-soldier-colonel.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-old-colonels-reaction-to-marine.html) where I pointed out: “Remember, it was President Trump as the CinC that made the initial decision to draw down the troop strength to 2500. Anyone that has been on Bagram (Army) Airfield or BAF knows how big the perimeter is and even if we were to shrink it to just the inner perimeter (leave out the new area where the prison is) it would still take an Army Division to secure it and its two 10,000+ foot active runways with aprons. It used to take me over an hour to run around just the inner perimeter. By making that drawdown decision, Trump in effect made the decision to abandon BAF. Given the restraints of a 2500 troop strength the alternatives were try to provide an inadequate defense at BAF or withdraw to Kabul and protect the Military side of the Kabul Airport and the Military area around the US Embassy. The Military leaders correctly elected to withdraw to Kabul.” My point is if Hegseth really wants to begin the “blame game” there is plenty of blame to go around and a lot of it is Trump’s.
As for the reason for Lt Col Scheller's
insubordination, it is well known inside the “Building” that both The
SecDef/GEN Austin and SecDef Esper as well as CJCS GEN Milley all strongly
advised against the 2500 troop ceiling and giving up Bagram (Army) Airfield but
both Trump and Biden rejected that advice and issued the lawful order to draw
down to 2500 boots on the ground. Scheller got exactly what he deserved and you
can read my article (link above) if you care to see why.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, was Trump”s hand picked American negotiator and he signed the final accord in Doha on 29 February 2020.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy leader for political affairs and head of its political office, was the group’s chief negotiator. He was the Taliban representative who signed the agreement and led the movement’s diplomatic engagement
Both the Trump and Biden administrations operated under the 2020 Doha Agreement, which committed the U.S. to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban counter‑terrorism promises and intra‑Afghan negotiations.
Overview of the Trump Administration’s Agreement
The Trump
administration negotiated and signed the United States–Taliban deal on 29 February
2020, commonly called the Doha Agreement.
The
Afghan government was not a party to the agreement, which created complications
in implementing prisoner releases and negotiations
Trump negotiated and signed the Doha Agreement, committing the U.S. to withdraw all forces by 1 May 2021, in exchange for Taliban promises on terrorism and negotiations.
Key terms included:
Full withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO forces within 14 months, meaning by 1 May 2021, if the Taliban met its commitments
Initial troop reduction from about 13,000 to 8,600 within 135 days
Taliban counter‑terrorism pledges, including preventing al‑Qaeda or other groups from using Afghan territory to threaten the U.S. or allies
Prisoner exchanges: up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners for 1,000 Afghan security personnel
Start of intra‑Afghan negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government
How the Biden Administration Implemented the Trump Negotiated Doha Agreement
When President Biden took office, Trump left about 2,500 U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan, already reduced under the Doha Agreement. Biden chose to follow the agreement, adjusting the timeline but keeping the core terms, ultimately completing the withdrawal on 30 August 2021
Biden officials stated they inherited the agreement and its deadlines, and that the Taliban had warned of consequences if the U.S. did not adhere to the 1 May date
Biden’s adjustments included:
Delaying the final withdrawal date from 1 May 2021, to 31 August 2021
Beginning withdrawal on 1 May, as required by the Doha Agreement, but extending the completion timeline
Maintaining
the core commitments of the Doha Agreement: full withdrawal and reliance on
Taliban counter‑terrorism assurances
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