The American government has turned its back on our military. They don’t appreciate the sacrifice they make.
And now US soldiers’ lives are on the line after what the US Senate just approved.
Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, famously captured in the viral night-vision photograph as the last American soldier to leave Kabul during the chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, has quietly been confirmed by the Senate to lead U.S. Army forces in Europe and Africa.
Donahue, who commanded the 82nd Airborne Division during the withdrawal, was nominated by President Biden for promotion to four-star general.
However, his confirmation was notably absent from a batch of over 100 military promotions approved by the Senate ahead of its Thanksgiving recess, due to a procedural hold by one senator, Politico reported.
Multiple outlets identified Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., as the lawmaker responsible for the delay.
Mullin, an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, has repeatedly condemned the disastrous operation, which included the tragic Abbey Gate suicide bombing that claimed the lives of 13 U.S. service members and around 170 Afghan civilians.
Donahue oversaw the 82nd Airborne Division’s mission to secure Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport during the frenzied evacuations as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.
On the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing, Mullin directly called out Donahue and other officials for a lack of accountability.
“Three years later, not one person has been held accountable for the disaster—not Gen. Milley, Gen. McKenzie, Gen. Donahue, U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan John Pommersheim, or anyone at the State Department,” Mullin said on August 24, 2024.
“To this day, no one has testified before Congress as to who gave this directive. No one has been held accountable for the 13 brave American heroes who died at Abbey Gate, or the countless Americans who lost their lives trying to escape Kabul.”
Donahue’s nomination had its defenders, including former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who urged the Senate to move forward.
“Responsibility for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 rests with the White House, not the Defense Dept, and certainly not with the uniformed leaders who faithfully executed Pres Biden’s misbegotten decisions,” Esper posted on X.
On the campaign trail, President-elect Trump had vowed to hold senior military leaders accountable for the withdrawal but did not specifically mention Donahue.
Reports suggested Trump’s transition team was considering court-martialing certain military officials over the chaotic exit from Afghanistan.
Despite the controversy, Donahue’s promotion to commander of U.S. Army Europe-Africa was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Monday after the hold was dropped.
Mullin did not issue any public comments about his decision to lift the procedural block.
Donahue, who has led the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, since 2022, brings extensive experience to his new role.
He previously served as leader of the Special Operations Joint Task Force Afghanistan and as the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism.
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