Mark Milley pardoned: General at center of Afghanistan withdrawal predicted it wouldn’t be a Saigon moment

Former President Biden made headlines on Monday by issuing a preemptive pardon to Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This pardon comes as a surprise to many, as Milley’s tenure was marked by controversy and criticism, particularly in light of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.

Milley, who accepted the pardon, stated that he does not want to spend the rest of his life fighting against retribution. However, critics, including Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a veteran of the Afghanistan conflict, have made it clear that they are not done holding Milley accountable for his actions during the withdrawal.

The withdrawal from Afghanistan, which resulted in the loss of 13 U.S. troops, has been widely criticized as a strategic failure. Post-withdrawal assessments have questioned why the military pulled out of the region before completing civilian evacuations. Milley admitted during a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in 2024 that the delay in issuing a Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) order contributed to the chaos in the final days of the withdrawal.

While Milley placed some blame on the State Department for the delay in issuing the NEO order, he acknowledged that the military’s actions were ultimately responsible for supporting the evacuation effort. The decision not to leave a residual force behind in Afghanistan has been a point of contention among military and counterterrorism officials.

Milley’s pardon was part of a group of preemptive pardons that also included Anthony Fauci and members of the January 6th Committee. In response to the pardon, Milley expressed gratitude to President Biden and emphasized his desire to move on from the controversy surrounding the withdrawal.

Critics of the pardon, such as Jerry Dunleavy, a former investigator on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Afghanistan probe, have pointed to Milley’s misjudgments and miscalculations during the withdrawal as reasons why he should not be granted immunity from further scrutiny. Dunleavy highlighted Milley’s dismissive attitude towards comparisons to the fall of Saigon and his inaccurate predictions about the speed of the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan.

Overall, the preemptive pardon of Gen. Mark Milley by Former President Biden has sparked debate and controversy among lawmakers and military experts. While Milley may have been granted immunity from legal repercussions, the questions surrounding his role in the Afghanistan withdrawal are likely to persist for some time.