Donald Trump’s reported plan to court-martial top military officials over their involvement in the Afghanistan withdrawal has been labeled as “utter nonsense” by retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey. The proposal, revealed by NBC News over the weekend, suggests recalling retired military leaders to active duty and charging them with treason.
The Trump transition team is said to be drafting a list of military brass who oversaw the withdrawal, including those who criticized Trump publicly in op-eds. However, McCaffrey dismissed the idea as both impractical and hypocritical during an appearance on MSNBC.
“This is utter nonsense,” McCaffrey stated. “What is not utter nonsense is this is a political attack of utmost hypocrisy. Trump ran for office saying to get out of Afghanistan. He reduced the troop presence to 2,500. He negotiated directly with the Taliban.”
McCaffrey also pointed out that the conditions created under Trump’s administration, including the reduction of troops to just 2,500, made the eventual withdrawal under President Joe Biden more challenging. He defended the military’s efforts during the evacuation. “The evacuation, from a tactical military viewpoint, was a brilliant success,” McCaffrey said. “We got out of there with 100,000 Afghan civilians fleeing with us. It is just the world turned upside down.”
The retired general criticized the broader implications of Trump’s plan for the military. “They are also talking about review boards, vetting the three and four-star officers [in the] Army, Navy, and Air Force. Firing the chairman of [Joint Chiefs of Staff]. This is a terrible beginning to a new administration.”
Despite the bold rhetoric, McCaffrey was confident the plan would fail, citing the lack of precedent. “I think it is going nowhere,” he said. An independent 2022 report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction blamed both Trump and Biden for the chaotic withdrawal, noting failures on both sides in planning and execution.
McCaffrey concluded that the attempt to shift blame entirely onto the military not only misrepresents the situation but also risks alienating the armed forces. “It’s a disaster signal to the armed forces,” he said, underscoring the dangerous precedent such actions could set for civil-military relations.