"I'm glad President Biden made the decision. He is not responsible for the details of the withdrawal," MacGregor said. "That is the job primarily of the secretary of defense -- and General McKenzie and General Milley certainly should have been involved."
And, as MacGregor pointed out, two of the three people responsible -- Milley and McKenzie -- were appointed by Donald Trump.
the truth is that Biden accomplished exactly what Trump had tried to do in his final year in office.
The only real difference is that Trump wanted to withdraw more quickly and with less regard for the Afghan citizens who worked with the United States.
In fact, while Trump and Pompeo have taken their shots at Biden, some of the key players Trump tapped to carry out his planned withdrawal are actually praising Biden for finishing a job they say Trump started.
"The fact is this was the Trump-Biden withdrawal," said William Ruger, tapped by Trump to be U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan in September 2020.
"Donald Trump wanted out," MacGregor said. "It was no secret plan. No misleading agenda. He wanted out."
The withdrawal order horrified top military leaders, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and CENTCOM commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie.
Both men had just weeks earlier signed off on a memo written by recently ousted Defense Secretary Mark Esper warning that the withdrawal of U.S. troops would result in chaos in Afghanistan and a heightened terror threat in the U.S.