Two top US generals have said they recommended keeping a force of 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, ahead of the full US withdrawal in August.
Testimony by General Mark Milley and General Frank McKenzie to Congress seemed to contradict President Joe Biden, who said he did not recall any such advice.
The Taliban took power in August, after rapidly advancing through the country.
Gen. Milley said the US had been taken by surprise by the speed of the Afghan government’s collapse.
The two US generals were questioned by the Senate armed services committee along with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday.
The hearing comes weeks after a chaotic withdrawal at Kabul airport as foreign powers sought to get their citizens home and thousands of desperate Afghans begged for rescue.
A suicide attack killed 182 people during the withdrawal operation. Thirteen US service personnel and at least 169 Afghans were killed by the airport gate on August 26.
Gen. McKenzie, who as head of US Central Command oversaw the withdrawal from Afghanistan, said under questioning from Republican senators that he recommended keeping a small force of 2,500 troops in Afghanistan.
This appears to contradict President Joe Biden’s assertion to an ABC journalist on August19 that he did not recall anyone giving him such advice.
Gen. Milley said that he agreed with the recommendation, but when asked by Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan whether Mr Biden’s comments were “a false statement”, he refused to give a direct answer.
Later White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki addressed the issue.
“The president values the candid advice of… the joint chiefs and the military,” she said. “That doesn’t mean he always agrees with it.”
She said that if troops remained in the country after the August deadline the US would now be at war with the Taliban.
Tuesday’s hearing began with opening testimony from Mr Austin, followed by Gen Milley, who said it would now be harder to protect Americans from terrorist attacks from Afghanistan.
“The Taliban was and remains a terrorist organisation and still has not broken ties with al-Qaeda,” he said.
“A reconstituted al-Qaeda or ISIS [Islamic State group] with aspirations to attack the US is a very real possibility, and those conditions to include activity in ungoverned spaces could present themselves in the next 12-36 months.” -BBC
