“I actually walked out of there pretty confident we’re in a right stance right now,” Miller told four reporters traveling with him to Afghanistan, including one from Breitbart News.




Miller arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday to visit American troops stationed there over the holidays, as well as to get a sense of how the drawdown is going. Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from 4,500 down to 2,500 last month — the lowest number in almost two decades.

It is a significant milestone for Miller — a former Green Beret who was one of the first couple hundred of U.S. Special Forces to be inserted into Afghanistan after al Qaeda used the territory to plot a devastating terrorist attack against the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

Miller, who has a wry sense of humor, noted to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani before a meeting Tuesday that the first time he was in Afghanistan he had red hair.

Miller, now 55 and white-haired, has spent his life since then fighting terrorists, first as a soldier, then as a Pentagon civilian, a contractor, and then as head of the National Counterterrorism Center before becoming acting Defense Secretary in November.

His first stop in Afghanistan was to Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A), a multinational military command responsible for training, advising, and assisting Afghans to take on the capabilities needed to run its own security institutions. There, he met with CSTC-A commander Army Lt. Gen. John E. Deedrick Jr. and members of his team.


CTSCA TEAM … Kristina Wong/Breitbart News

Miller said hearing from CSTC-A team members on teaching Afghan security forces how to manage things like information technology and fuel “gratifying.” “It’s really hard to do,” he said.

Miller then flew via helicopter to the headquarters of Resolute Support, the overall U.S.-led NATO mission to train, advise, and assist the Afghan government on building its security and other institutions. There, he met with top U.S. commander in Afghanistan Army Gen. Scott Miller and Army Command Sergeant Major Tim Metheny.


Miller then visited Camp Morehead, a compound six miles south of Kabul where U.S. and Afghan special operations forces train.

“We talked to a bunch of special operators. They will just tell you what’s on their minds. They have no internal audit,” he said. “So I went there on purpose, because I’m going to get the real deal from those guys. And their smartass comments and insights led me to the conclusion that we’re in a good place.”