In conjunction with the second anniversary of the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, Congressman Cory Mills (R-Florida) made good on a promise from earlier this year that he would file an article of impeachment against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (pictured above). Mills, a U.S. Army veteran, believes Austin should be held accountable for "dereliction of duty resulting in abandonment of Americans in Afghanistan." Nearly 200 people, including 13 American servicemembers, were murdered at Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan, two years ago.
Lt. Col. (ret.) Bob Maginnis, an internationally known security and foreign affairs analyst, says clearly the withdrawal took place during Austin's tenure at the Pentagon.
"He was in there. He was part of the decision process, even though we don't know exactly [if] he had contrary views – and I would hope that he did," Maginnis tells AFN. "But he clearly executed the direction of the administration, and that resulted in the deaths of the 13 servicemembers and nearly 200 civilians."
Someone else, however, was ultimately responsible for the order to pull out, says Maginnis.
"It's probably Mr. Biden – but his name isn't on the bottom line for the articles of impeachment. And that [should send] a chill … to the other members [of Biden's Cabinet] like Jake Sullivan, the NSC advisor, and [Antony] Blinken at the State Department, because it's the State Department that typically has a heavy influence over rules of engagement in a civilian sector."
Those individuals, according to the FRC analyst, would have influenced what the commanders on the ground were doing to a certain degree as they advised the military, especially U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
Mills' filing follows the filing of four articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden earlier this month by another Florida congressman, Greg Steube.
