Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, brief the media, at the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C., on August 18, 2021. Milley stated that U.S. military intelligence did not indicate that Afghanistan would fall to the Taliban as quickly as it did, adding that the United States conducted a "deliberate and responsible drawdown" of troops focused on securing the U.S. Embassy and diplomatic presence in Afghanistan. Photo by Lisa Ferdinando/DoD/UPI