Ernst: “This was not a conditions based withdrawal.”

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a former company commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom, today pressed top military officials Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, and Commander of U.S. Central Command General Kenneth McKenzie at a Senate Armed Services Committee on the Biden Administration’s haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan. In her opening remarks, Ernst stated that President Biden prioritized a cheap political victory—a withdrawal timed to the 20th anniversary of 9/11—and executed his vision with little regard for American lives or the real threats we face, and the loss of our servicemembers and abandonment of Americans and Afghan allies last month was an unforced, disgraceful humiliation that didn’t have to happen.