A top U.S. general and a key U.S. rear admiral both turned down last-minute chances which potentially could have kept the Taliban out of Kabul during the August 2021 fiasco of evacuation from Afghanistan. General Frank McKenzie rejected a proposal from the Taliban to keep the enemy forces out of Kabul, while Rear Admiral Peter Vasely shot down an overture from allied Afghan commanders that may have saved the nation’s capital from the utter chaos that ensued.
McKenzie, the now-former commander of CENTCOM, held a mid-August 2021 meeting with Taliban leader Mullah Baradar in Doha, Qatar which would end with the Taliban taking control of Kabul and the U.S. relying upon the goodwill of Taliban fighters to provide security at the Kabul airport during the evacuation.
During that meeting, Baradar said the Taliban was willing to withdraw its forces from in and around Kabul and would let the U.S. send in as many troops as it wanted to secure the Afghan capital and conduct the U.S. evacuation free from Taliban interference, but McKenzie admits that he turned the offer down on the spot.
McKenzie is currently listed as the Executive Director for the Global and National Security Institute at the University of Southern Florida. The general did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to him through his email at the school.
Vasely did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to him through his LinkedIn page.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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