Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly pushed a highly regarded four-star Army general into retirement after becoming fixated on a viral photograph from the final moments of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Gen. Christopher Donahue, 57, was the last American soldier to board the final military aircraft leaving Kabul in August 2021, a moment captured by an Army photographer using a cellphone and night-vision equipment.
The image quickly became one of the defining photographs of the chaotic withdrawal, showing Donahue walking toward a C-17 transport aircraft as the nearly 20-year US military presence in Afghanistan came to an end.
According to a New York Times investigation based on interviews with more than 40 people, senior Pentagon officials said Hegseth became fixated on the image after taking office and repeatedly referred to it as a “selfie.”
The photograph was not a selfie.
An Army photographer took it as Donahue followed military tradition by being the final soldier from his unit to board the aircraft. Donahue also had nothing to do with distributing the photograph, which rapidly spread across news organizations worldwide.
The image was captured on Aug. 30, 2021, as the final US troops left Afghanistan just days after the deadly bombing at Kabul’s Abbey Gate.
An ISIS-K suicide bomber attacked the gate on Aug. 26, killing 13 US service members — 11 Marines, one Navy corpsman and one Army soldier — along with scores of Afghans.
The Times reported that Donahue’s soldiers were not controlling Abbey Gate when the bombing occurred. Marines were still responsible for the entrance at the time of the attack, with Donahue’s paratroopers scheduled to take control the following day.
Donahue had also reportedly warned before the bombing that the crowded conditions made the gate vulnerable to an attack and recommended shutting it earlier. Pentagon leaders ultimately agreed to keep the entrance operating after British forces requested more time for evacuations.
Despite those circumstances, the Afghanistan withdrawal became a threat to Donahue’s career after President Donald Trump returned to office.
Trump repeatedly criticized the Biden administration over the withdrawal during the 2024 campaign and questioned why senior military officers had not been punished for the Abbey Gate deaths.
Donahue was initially viewed as the leading candidate to replace retiring Gen. Christopher Cavoli as commander of US European Command.
Hegseth initially supported Donahue for the position, according to the Times, before telling aides that Trump wanted someone held accountable for the Abbey Gate disaster.
Hegseth’s then-chief of staff, Joe Kasper, reportedly attempted to defend Donahue by preparing information explaining that the viral Afghanistan photograph was not a selfie, Donahue had not arranged its publication and his forces were not controlling Abbey Gate when the bombing happened.
Hegseth looked at the information and handed it back.
“I don’t care,” Hegseth reportedly told Kasper.
The episode reportedly became part of a much larger battle over Donahue’s future inside the Pentagon.
Donahue had served on more than 20 combat deployments during his roughly three-decade career and had risen through the Army’s special operations community, including service in Delta Force. Supporters inside the military viewed him as an unusually experienced battlefield commander.
He later became commander of US Army Europe and Africa, where the Army credited him with developing and expanding the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative, a strategy designed to strengthen NATO defenses and incorporate lessons from the war in Ukraine.
Hegseth eventually moved to downgrade Donahue’s European command from a four-star position to a three-star post. Without another four-star assignment available, the move effectively forced Donahue to retire, per the Daily Mail.
Army officials confirmed earlier this summer that Donahue was leaving US Army Europe and Africa after approximately 18 months in command. His departure was also part of a broader reshuffling of senior military leadership under Hegseth.
Donahue still had influential supporters attempting to preserve his career.
Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy (R), a former Navy SEAL, advocated on his behalf, while Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R) sought alternative four-star positions for him. The Times reported that those efforts failed to change Hegseth’s position.
Ernst eventually asked Donahue whether he would consider taking a four-star Army command in Texas.
“Do you honestly think Secretary Hegseth would work with me if I was there?” Donahue reportedly asked her.
“Honestly, no,” Ernst responded, according to the Times.
Donahue retired Aug. 27, ending a military career that included leadership positions in Afghanistan, Europe and some of the Army’s most elite special operations units.
The Pentagon declined to answer detailed questions from the Times about Donahue’s case, saying senior military leaders serve at the pleasure of the president and defense secretary.
His departure adds to a wider turnover among senior officers under Hegseth, including the earlier removal of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and other high-ranking Army leaders.
