Gen. Mark Milley: Military intelligence did not predict rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
18 August 2021
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday that the U.S. military's intelligence did not indicate that Afghanistan would fall as quickly as it did to the Taliban.
The big picture: Milley's comments come as intelligence communities have pushed back on claims that the Afghan collapse was a surprise. Several leaks have asserted that the intelligence agencies provided substantial information regarding Afghanistan's potential fall.
- President Biden has maintained his position that withdrawing troops from Afghanistan was the right decision, saying, "I do not regret my decision to end America's war fighting in Afghanistan."
- The Biden administration has received stark criticism over the rapid fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and the chaotic evacuation effort that ensued.
What they're saying: "The timeframe of a potential collapse was widely estimated, it ranged from weeks to months, even years following our departure," Milley said in a press briefing.
- "There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days," he added.
- Milley also pledged to evacuate Afghans who have supported the U.S. military: “We intend to evacuate those who have been supporting us for years, and we are not going to leave them behind. And we will get as many out as possible.”
Go deeper: Evacuating Afghanistan
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.