{"id":61245,"date":"2020-10-12T00:03:48","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T00:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/12\/milley-ducks-endorsement-of-trumps-afghanistan-exit-timeline\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:00:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:00:26","slug":"milley-ducks-endorsement-of-trumps-afghanistan-exit-timeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/10\/12\/milley-ducks-endorsement-of-trumps-afghanistan-exit-timeline\/","title":{"rendered":"Milley ducks endorsement of Trump\u2019s Afghanistan exit timeline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff<\/a> broke with the White House in an interview with NPR <\/a>set to air Monday morning, when he declined to endorse a plan to reduce troop levels<\/a> in Afghanistan to 2,500 by early next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s national security adviser, Robert O\u2019Brien, on Wednesday told an audience he supported a plan to draw down to 2,500 troops by early next year, but Army Gen. Mark Milley does not see that as a done deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that, you know, Robert O\u2019Brien or anyone else can speculate as they see fit,” Milley told NPR in an interview aired Monday. \u201cI\u2019m not going to engage in speculation. I\u2019m going to engage in the rigorous analysis of the situation based on the conditions and the plans that I am aware of and my conversations with the president.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milley\u2019s comments came after Trump, on Thursday, one-upped O\u2019Brien\u2019s projection in a tweet announcing that the remaining 4,000 troops in Afghanistan \u201cshould\u201d be home by Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd then when we get to the point where we have further discussions and further decisions, those will be appropriately made public. But right now, it\u2019s just not appropriate for me to do that,\u201d Milley added. “If others want to do it, that\u2019s up to them. But right now, it\u2019s not my place to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milley, who has rarely given <\/b>one-on-one interviews during his 40-year career, appeared on NPR at a time when he has been largely absent from the media spotlight, last briefing at the Pentagon in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe key here is that we\u2019re trying to end the war responsibly, deliberately, and to do it on terms that guarantee the safety of the U.S. vital national security interests used an important phrase, general conditions based,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Monday, following the news that Coast Guard Vice Commandant Adm. Charles Ray<\/a>, who attended an Oct. 2 meeting in Milley\u2019s office, had come down with COVID-19, Milley and other members of the Joint Staff have been quarantined at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just want to kind of review the bidding here and assure the American people that the Joint Chiefs of Staff are fully functional, even though we\u2019re functional from home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marine Corps Assistant Commandant Gen. Gary Thomas<\/a> has also tested positive, though Milley added that no one else who attended the meeting has, after multiple tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all have various, you know, SCIFs \u2015special compartmented information facilities \u2015 built into our houses, whether you\u2019re here or down at the Naval Annex or downtown,\u201d he said, \u201cand we all have all the same communication systems we have in the Pentagon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon\u2019s response to Ray\u2019s diagnosis was in sharp contrast to the White House<\/a>, which has dealt with more than a dozen cases \u2015 including those of the president and first lady \u2015 after a late September weekend of back-to-back events with no enforced physical distancing or mask requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a force of, I guess, 2.3 million troops out there and we were possibly exposed to someone who we know was positive, so we went right to the book, went right to the doctors and pulled out the guidelines,\u201d Milley said of the self-isolation, testing and contract-tracing protocols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milley added that himself and the Joint Chiefs are considered critical infrastructure personnel, and so were not required to isolate at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I thought that was prudent, given our duties and responsibilities and given our communication capabilities at home,” he said. “So, I just want to make sure that the senior military leaders of the U.S. military here are safe and able to operate. And I think it sets a good example for the forces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tumultuous times<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milley\u2019s receding from the spotlight came just after his June 2 appearance with Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and various other top officials in the administration in Lafayette Square, after U.S Park Police infamously cleared the area of protestors, using tear gas and rubber bullets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a pre-recorded keynote graduation address at the National Defense University, Milley apologized<\/a> for appearing in the political photo opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\t