Secretary of State Blinken pushes back Republicans’ criticism of Afghan withdrawal

[ad_1]

WASHINGTON Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday fended off harsh Republicans’ handling of the military withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying the Biden administration inherited a deal with the Taliban to end the war , but no plan to carry it out.

In a sometimes controversial hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday, Blinken sought to blunt complaints from angry Republican lawmakers about the administration’s response to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and, more specifically, the actions of the State Department to evacuate Americans and others.

Blinken echoed the White House talking points blaming the Trump administration for the situation President Biden inherited in Afghanistan. Republicans trashed the withdrawal as a disaster and a disgrace. And while some Democrats have admitted the operation could have been better handled, many have used their questions to rack up criticism of former President Trump.

The State Department has come under heavy criticism from both sides for not doing enough and not acting quickly enough to get US citizens, legal residents and at-risk Afghans out of the country after the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15. to let get stuck there, although Blinken couldn’t provide a number.

It was an absolute disaster of epic proportions, ”said Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, the committee’s top Republican. He said the brutal withdrawal and leaving some Americans and Afghans behind had emboldened the Taliban and other American adversaries. I can sum it up in one word: betrayal.

His Republican colleague Steve Chabot of Ohio was even more blunt. It’s a shame, he said.

Committee chairman, New York Representative Gregory Meeks, urged his colleagues to keep politics out of their criticism. But he admitted that there had been problems. Could things have been done differently? Absolutely, ”he said.

Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who has been ostracized by many GOP members for his criticism of Trump, blamed the situation on Trump and Biden. The Trump administration failed in the setup and the Biden administration failed in the execution, Kinzinger said.

In the first two days of congressional testimony, Blinken attempted to calmly deflect allegations of unpreparedness by noting that the Biden administration had inherited a US-Taliban peace deal from its predecessor, as well as a program languid to grant visas to Afghans who had worked for the US government.

Blinken, who publicly predicted in June that a full Taliban takeover would not take place from Friday to Monday, also tried to avoid criticism of the prediction by noting that no one in the U.S. government expected the Afghan government to fall as quickly as it does.

Even the most pessimistic assessments did not predict that government forces in Kabul would collapse as long as U.S. forces remained, Blinken said in prepared remarks released ahead of his appearance. He also defended the evacuation effort, saying it was successful despite almost insurmountable odds.

The evacuation was an extraordinary effort under the most difficult conditions imaginable by our diplomats, military and intelligence professionals, he said. In the end, we achieved one of the largest airlifts in history, with 124,000 people evacuated to safety.

But Republicans, in particular, have demanded answers as to why American citizens were left behind in the chaotic days and weeks before the military completed its withdrawal on August 30.

In a snapshot of Republican issues, the Republican National Committee released a statement earlier Monday with the headline Fire Blinken, demanding that he be held accountable for what it described as a litany of chess.

Blinkens’ disastrous management of Afghanistan and weak leadership put American lives at risk, including the lives of Americans still trapped in Afghanistan, the Republican committee said.

Blinken is very close to Biden and his job as America’s top diplomat is almost certainly secure, but criticism of the administration’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan is not confined to Republicans.

Many Democrats have also questioned the policy and expressed concern about stranded Americans, green card holders and Afghans who could face retaliation from the Taliban because of their work or ties to the government. American over the past 20 years.

State Department officials have acknowledged that the Congressional hearings could be controversial and perhaps ugly, but many remain convinced that the U.S. military and other officials did their best under extremely difficult circumstances, including the evacuation of the American embassy in Kabul and the crushing of thousands of desperate people at Kabul airport seeking to leave the country.

Invalid username / password.

Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you submit your account email, we’ll send you an email with a reset code.

” Previous

Apple releases emergency software patch after an exploit attributed to a hacking company. This iframe contains the logic required to handle Gravity forms powered by Ajax.

Related stories

[ad_2]