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From NBC News: A Republican senator has blocked the promotion of a general who oversaw troops in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a Senate aide.
The move by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin follows threats from President-elect Donald Trump to fire senior officers and officials who oversaw the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan in 2021. It also comes as Trump’s transition team weighs possible court-martial proceedings against current and former officers involved in the withdrawal, as NBC News previously reported.
Army Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue was nominated for promotion to become a four-star general and to oversee U.S. Army forces in Europe. His nomination was among more than 900 proposed nominations sent to the Senate, but Donahue’s was put on hold by Mullin, according to the Senate aide.
Donahue was the last American service member to board the final U.S. military plane out of Afghanistan in 2021. A night-vision photograph of Donahue boarding a cargo plane went viral, capturing the symbolism of the end of America’s 20-year war.
The report explains that Donahue, who was commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, was ordered to Kabul to oversee the U.S. withdrawal after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
During the chaotic withdrawal and evacuation, a suicide bomber managed to infiltrate the throngs of people crowding the Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate, killing 13 U.S. service members and over 170 Afghans.
Some who served with Donahue are slamming Mullin for blocking the promotion.
Retired Gen. Tony Thomas, former head of Special Operations Command, wrote, “Absolute disgrace. The finest officer I ever served with, Chris Donahue is a generational leader who is now being held up for political purposes. At the tip of the spear defending this country for over three decades he is now a political pawn. Bullshit!”
Ansolute disgrace. The finest officer I ever served with, Chris Donahue is a generational leader who is now being held up for political purposes. At the tip of the spear defending this country for over three decades he is now a political pawn. Bullshit! https://t.co/bNicFYfwd8
— Tony Thomas (@TonyT2Thomas) November 22, 2024
The commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, has arrived in Poland along with hundreds of paratroopers. Donahue was the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/rHPhHsJzOv
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) February 5, 2022
Army Major General Christopher T. Donahue boarding a C-17 at Kabul Airport as the final American soldier to depart Afghanistan, on this date August 30 in 2021. Photo by Master Sgt. Alexander Burnett. #OTD pic.twitter.com/KnembjU6gA
— Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) August 30, 2023
A Republican senator has blocked the promotion of a general who oversaw troops in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a Senate aide. https://t.co/usyHu8CLWA
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 24, 2024
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