While no decision has yet been announced on whether US President Joe Biden will extend troop presence in the country, the US Army Chief of Staff General James McConville said Monday that the military are ready to execute any orders to exit Afghanistan.

He said “the administration is leading with policy. They’re going to shape it with diplomacy, and then the military will execute those orders. They’re in the process right now.

“There’s multiple contingencies. And once those decisions are made at the highest level, we’ll be ready to execute,” he said.

In an interview with the Washington Post, he said moving the troops and equipment out of the country was all about “physics”.

“Well, it’s all about physics. It comes down to how many people you need to move, how much equipment you need to move. And the commanders in the field have those type of contingency plans, and they’ll be able to advise the senior leaders in administration how long that takes. And those plans were available right now.”

McConville meanwhile implied that Resolute Support Commander General Scott Miller has mechanisms in place to deal with a possible backlash from the Taliban should the US presence remain in Afghanistan after the May 1 deadline.

“I don’t think there’s any finer combat leader [than Miller] in the United States Army. He’s got a very distinguished career. He cares about his troops. And you know, we’re all going to make sure that our troops are taken care of and have the proper defense mechanisms in place to take care of that troop. So that’s certainly on the top of his mind,” McConville said.

He also said that the war in Afghanistan was going to end – “and it’s going to end with some type of political agreement.”

McConville also said that by having gone into Afghanistan in 2001, after the 9/11 attack, the US was able to hold those responsible accountable and were “able to prevent al-Qaida from being operational from that sanctuary over the last 20 years”.