Jacobson Speaks to CBS News, DW, WAER about the Afghanistan Withdrawal

Top Pentagon leaders, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, testified publicly before lawmakers for the first time since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. "I think Gen. Milley's testimony was very powerful on a number of fronts and this is particularly important. We saw the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces but now what Gen. Milley points out is the decision by the Trump administration a couple of years ago set up a situation where it made it more difficult to assess that that was going to happen," Assistant Dean for Washington Programs Mark Jacobson tells CBS News. "Not having trainers embedded with the Afghan units meant that we really didn't have a good feel for what they would do once the end was in sight." Jacobson also spoke with Deutsche Welle and WAER about the Pentagon leaders' testimony and the aftermath of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

CBS News: "Top Pentagon leaders testify on Afghanistan withdrawal and aftermath"

Deutsche Welle: "America's top generals grilled by senators demanding answers about the chaotic end of the war in Afghanistan" (interview begins at 17:34)

WAER: "SU Maxwell Assistant Dean, A Veteran, Worries For Afghanistan's Future After US Withdrawal"