Nikki Haley slams 'softball' questions asked to Milley, Austin

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Nikki Haley on Afghanistan: This book is not closed

Former U.S. ambassador to the UN slams the Biden administration's handling of the Afghanistan crisis on 'America Reports'

Former U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley joined "America Reports" to react to the press conference with the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the crisis in Afghanistan.

NIKKI HALEY: I was really disturbed by that press conference because all they did was talk about was how they closed this out. It was like they wanted a pat on the back. It’s like they wanted to say that this book was closed. The book is not closed because you have hundreds of thousands of Americans still sitting there in Afghanistan that need to get out, so this book is not closed and it goes against the moral code of the military, which is you leave no American behind. So, Austin and Milley know that. They know that every military veteran, combat veteran like my husband, is still thinking about the Americans that were left behind, still thinking about the Afghan allies that are behind so to imply that this book is closed, to say that you’re going to a diplomatic operation, is implying that you’re going to a hostage situation. There’s nothing comforting about that. 

Now, I appreciate that General Austin is going to the gulf. Right now, more than anything, we need to be making sure we rebuild these relationships with our allies that don’t trust us now, that don’t trust the decisions that we make, but don’t forget the military combat veterans, the veterans all over this country, are sitting there thinking, "But what about those we left behind?" They have to answer that and I don’t know what that press conference was. For journalists to be asking Austin and Milley about their pain and anger — it’s not about their pain and anger. It’s about the pain and anger of the American people. 

Those were the most softball questions I’ve ever heard at a time where we have a lot more questions that aren’t being answered and that goes to the conversation that supposedly took place between Biden and Ghani. For Biden to sit there and ask Ghani to change the perception of what was happening? The total wrong thing for a president to do. You don’t go asking another leader to change perception. You go and say "OK something’s wrong. We have to change direction. This is not going the way we want it to go." That was a warning sign and because he was worried about the political optics, he’s asking a foreign leader to fake it as opposed to actually changing direction and doing things that would save more lives. The whole thing’s a bit disturbing. I don’t get it. 

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