Afghanistan updates: US, Taliban hold first direct talks since withdrawal

The House Armed Services Committee hearing has adjourned with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, closing out a second day of questions from congressional lawmakers on the U.S. military’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan.

Several Republicans dug into Milley and McKenzie saying they had recommended leaving approximately 2,500 troops behind as a residual force in Afghanistan, appearing to contradict Biden’s comments to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that the opinion of his military advisers was "split" and that he didn't recall being told 2,500 troops would allow for a "stable" situation.

Austin repeated his acknowledgments of "uncomfortable truths" about the two-decade-old U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, of which he is a veteran, but was careful not to contradict the president.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, nearly choked up when speaking in the House hearing on Afghanistan and offered some harsh words for Biden and the committee, which he said under both Democrat and Republican presidents cautioned against a premature withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"I think most veterans feel heartbroken knowing the blood and the treasure spilled ended up in a ‘strategic failure,'" Bacon said, quoting witness Gen. Mark Milley. "I think we’re enraged by it."

"Then to have the president come out and say that this was a success, and he had no regrets -- this does not break our hearts, that makes us mad as hell," Bacon continued.  

"The fact that President Biden on ABC said that no one that he can recall advised him to keep a force of about 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, it's not true. We heard yesterday, and we've heard today that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the CENTCOM commander advise differently," he said. "I have no other view to see this as a lie. A falsehood from our president -- that makes us mad as hell too."

Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., pushed back on Bacon’s interpretation of Biden’s interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, by focusing on the world "stable."

"He was asked, could they stay there in a stable environment. That is the option he said wasn't on the table, not because it wasn't offered, but because it didn't exist," Smith said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers at a House Armed Services Committee hearing he wouldn’t absolutely rule out sending troops back into Afghanistan, and added, "If we do, the military will provide good credible options to be able to do that and to be effective."

While maintaining that he wouldn’t talk about his recommendation to President Biden on leaving a residual force, Austin said he "did not support staying in Afghanistan forever" and that keeping a presence there would have required more troops for force protection if the Taliban started attacking the U.S. military as it had promised to do.

"Let me be clear that I support the president's decision to end the war in Afghanistan. I did not support staying in Afghanistan forever. And let me also say we've talked about the process that we used to provide input to the president," Austin said. 

"I will always keep my recommendations to the president confidential but I would say that in my view there is no, was no risk-free status quo option. I think that the Taliban had been clear that if we stayed there longer, they were going to recommence attacks on our forces," Austin added. 

"I think while it's conceivable that you could stay there, my view is that you would have had to deploy more forces in order to protect ourselves and accomplish any missions we would have been assigned. It's also my view, Mister Chairman, the best way to end this war was through a negotiated settlement and sadly that did not happen."

Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, raising the August U.S. drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children, took direct issue with the U.S. military’s ability to conduct "over the horizon" drone strike capabilities in Afghanistan.

"What we know from your prior statements is that you did not know who it was, who was in the car, whose house it was," Turner said. "This greatly concerns me as we look to the over horizon claims that the administration has of its ability for counterterrorism."

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told House lawmakers he took "full responsibility" for the strike. 

"That strike was a mistake and I take full responsibility for that strike. I was under no pressure from any quarter to conduct the strike," McKenzie said. 

"While in many cases we were right with our intelligence and forestalled ISIS- K attacks, in this case we were wrong, tragically wrong," he added. 

"Over-the-horizon" capabilities are a cornerstone of the U.S. military’s counterterrorism strategy in Afghanistan. The top Pentagon commanders said the U.S. will continue to investigate the intelligence that led to the August strike and will be transparent with their findings.