McKenzie calls delayed Afghanistan exit an example of ‘American arrogance’

U.S. retired Gen. Frank McKenzie has said he believes the delay in withdrawing troops from Afghanistan can be attributed to “American arrogance.”

McKenzie, the head of United States Central Command at the time of the withdrawal, said in an interview with Fox News that he regretted the U.S.’s decision to “stay on until the very end,” saying that often pushing that choice could land, and did land, the country in an “extremist situation.”

“I think it’s a case of American exceptionalism or American arrogance, depending on your perspective, to believe that you can actually withdraw, beaten from the field of battle, and still maintain a large political platform in the country you’re actually retreating from,” McKenzie said in the interview, which aired Thursday.

“I go back to the basic decision to wait so very late to begin to bring people out — after we had already given away Bagram Airfield, after we had already drawn down to a very low footprint in the country,” he continued. “I think those were the decisions that led to the scenes at the airport in Kabul.”

Thirteen U.S. soldiers and at least 170 Afghan citizens died after blast at the Kabul airport during the evacuation. It was the third deadliest incident in the U.S.’s two decades in Afghanistan.

McKenzie also said that he does not regret striking a deal with the Islamic Emirate.

“And I feel had we not done so, our casualties would have been significantly higher,” the retired general added.