Lt. Col. Scheller to Newsmax: Afghan Exit Was Worst Decision in 50 Years

President Joe Biden’s order to hastily evacuate Afghanistan "will go down as one of the biggest blunders coming out of the National Security Council in the last 50 years," says retired Lt. Col. Stu Scheller.

The United States in 2021 withdrew the last of its troops from Afghanistan, ending a military presence in the beleaguered nation that lasted almost 20 years. The Taliban swiftly regained control of the country and the U.S. left behind billions in military weapons and equipment. Thirteen American service members were killed by a terrorist explosive at the Kabul airport in the final hours of the disastrous withdrawal.

Scheller made a video calling out the decision made by his superiors and was promptly disciplined for doing so. In December of the same year he was formally discharged from the Marine Corps. Scheller said Biden made the call to drastically reduce troop numbers "before evacuating American citizens."

"And he picked the arbitrary date of September 11th. You know, he didn't pick that date out of a hat. Anyone that served in Afghanistan knows the Taliban goes in the mountains in the winter. So we could have conducted the withdrawal if that's what he wanted to do from October to February. Completely uncontested. But a PR date was more important than American lives,” Scheller said during an appearance on Newsmax TV's "Saturday Agenda."

Scheller noted how under former President Donald Trump’s plan, Bagram Air Base would have remained under U.S. control.

"President Biden and General McKenzie decided unilaterally to leave that base. We allowed the Taliban to conduct external security. They obviously let a suicide bomber through the gate. And then in [a] retaliatory strike, we killed nothing but women and children. I mean, ladies and gentlemen, there is no better list of mistakes than what was done in the Afghanistan withdrawal/evacuation," he said.

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