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🇰🇷 South Korea /Conflict & Security

Afghanistan ‘Hero’ General Forced Out After Falling Out of Favor with Hegseth

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Gen. Christopher Donahue, a highly regarded Delta Force veteran who commanded the final U.S. departure from Afghanistan, resigned last month as head of U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
  • The article links his departure to political criticism of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s doubts about Donahue’s role.
  • Donahue lost support after senior officials who had backed him were removed or resigned, despite efforts by former military officers in the Republican Senate caucus to protect him.

Gen. Christopher Donahue, celebrated as the “last U.S. soldier in Afghanistan,” has left the Army after losing the backing of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The New York Times reported that Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, resigned on the 27th of last month.

Donahue came from Delta Force, served on more than 20 deployments and was regarded as one of the defining soldiers of his generation. He had also proposed reorganizing the Army around technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence, making him a possible future Army chief of staff.

last U.S. soldier in Afghanistan

· Unattributed descriptionThe phrase refers to Donahue’s role in leaving Kabul on the final U.S. transport aircraft.

His role in the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan instead became a liability. Former President Donald Trump made the Abbey Gate attack a political issue during the 2024 election campaign and called for those responsible for the withdrawal to be punished. The attack, carried out by an Islamic State suicide bomber, killed 13 U.S. service members.

a soldier who represents a generation

· Unattributed assessmentThe article describes how senior military circles viewed Donahue’s career and standing.

Hegseth also viewed the widely circulated image of Donahue boarding the final transport aircraft in Kabul as a “selfie” and suspected him of seeking publicity. The article says Hegseth rejected a recommendation from Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine to nominate Donahue to lead U.S. European Command. Joe Kasper, then the secretary’s chief of staff, said Donahue had not been involved in distributing the photograph and was not responsible for the area where the bombing occurred, but the explanation did not change the decision.

Donahue’s internal protection weakened after Army Chief of Staff Randy George, who had planned to make him his successor, was dismissed in April. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll also resigned this month after clashing with Hegseth. Republican senators with military backgrounds then mounted a rescue effort, but Hegseth responded that Donahue’s influence was excessively strong. The article presents the episode as part of a broader MAGA-style purge targeting officers suspected of links to the previous administration or progressive ideology.

selfie

· Pete HegsethHegseth used the term when criticizing the photograph of Donahue leaving Afghanistan.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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