Appearing on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, Former Obama Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen said there must be “accountability” for the drone strike in Afghanistan that killed ten civilians. The botched withdrawal leaving Americans and Afghans stranded was just the beginning of a treacherous series of events that followed.
Last Week the head of U.S. Central Command Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie said a U.S. drone strike on August 29th intended for ISIS-K members most likely did not kill anyone from the terror network. Calling the deaths a “mistake” McKenzie noted ten individuals had been killed including as many as seven children.
A Pentagon investigation confirmed that tragically, an innocent family, among others were killed but no terrorists. The Daily Caller writes “Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen Mark Milley made several false statements about the drone strike during a press conference on Sept. 1.”
Amongst the false claims were “that the vehicle in question met U.S. engagement criteria, at least one of the fatalities was an ISIS member, and U.S. forces applied the ‘same level of rigor’ during the strike as they did with others. Each of these claims was proven false.”
When questioned about the incident in his interview, Mullen said there should “absolutely” be accountability for the botched strike. “This was obviously an incredibly complex, fast-moving situation. We lost those 13 military members a couple of days before that.”
“There was clear intelligence that additional strikes were on the way, so it was in that environment in which this strike actually took place” said McKenzie who declared the strike a “tragic, tragic mistake.”
Mullen also said McKenzie was right to apologize and added Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will be conducting a review which will hopefully result in accountability within the military. When asked specifically about accountability for the Biden administration for the Afghanistan withdrawal.
“I also think there should be accountability there as well” said Mullen of the administration’s actions which led to the death of 13 U.S. service men and women in a terror attack in Kabul. I hope there is.”
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen tells @MarthaRaddatz that Gen. Kenneth McKenzie's acknowledgement that the Aug. 29 drone strike near the Kabul airport was "a mistake" was the correct response. https://t.co/2n5suvGtED pic.twitter.com/I8JfgXyIZP
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 19, 2021
