‘I Don’t Have Any Regrets’ Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Says of Deadly Afghanistan Withdrawal

Gen. Lloyd Austin III, commander of U.S. Central Command, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Sept. 16, 2015. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has shared that he has “no regrets” over the way in which the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, during which 13 service members and hundreds of civilians were killed in a suicide bombing attack near the Kabul airport.

Austin made the admission before lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee on March 29 during a hearing to discuss President Joe Biden’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2024.