The civilian sectors of the military-industrial complex and the deep state, like  the intelligence services and defense companies, are the real power, and not the uniformed military leadership.

By Ethan Barton | Fox News

Austin, Milley, McKenzie could have offered resignation to send powerful message to Biden, retired Col. Andrew Milburn says.

This is the fourth part of a Fox News Digital Originals series about the fall of Kabul and the hectic and heroic 96-hour effort to evacuate Afghans fearing retribution from the Taliban. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

President Biden’s top military advisers should have predicted Afghanistan’s imminent collapse – and then offered their resignations if the commander in chief refused to modify his withdrawal plans, a former deputy commander told Fox News.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Central Command head Gen. Kenneth McKenzie had a responsibility to stand firm if they believed the fast-paced troop withdrawal would end in catastrophe, retired Marine Col. Andrew Milburn told Fox News.

“Can you imagine if those three or even two out of three had offered their resignation?” Milburn, a former Special Operations Central deputy commander, said. “You don’t think that might have caused the president to think twice?”

He argued that all three are products of a culture the military has fostered that favors leaders who are obedient, rather than principled freethinkers.

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