The US Secretary of State will be unable to testify to lawmakers on the day he was known as, his workplace has mentioned
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is not going to seem earlier than the Home Overseas Affairs Committee to testify on the chaotic withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, his workplace mentioned on Tuesday. Lawmakers subpoenaed him to take action earlier within the day.
Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has been attempting to get Blinken’s testimony on the debacle since Could. The highest US diplomat “should seem earlier than the committee on September 19, 2024, or face contempt,” the committee mentioned in a press release.
In a letter to Blinken, McCaul mentioned that the investigation recognized him as “the ultimate decisionmaker” for his division in the course of the evacuation of troops and civilians from Afghanistan in August 2021, and that the secretary’s testimony may benefit lawmakers as they contemplate “potential laws geared toward serving to forestall the catastrophic errors of the withdrawal.”
State Division spokesman Matthew Miller responded by stating that Blinken had already testified earlier than Congress on a number of events, together with earlier than the Overseas Affairs Committee solely on Afghanistan. The highest diplomat is not going to be obtainable on September 19, Miller mentioned in a press release to the press.
The assertion accused McCaul of rejecting “affordable alternate options” to having a public listening to and mentioned it was “disappointing that as an alternative of constant to interact with the Division in good religion, the Committee as an alternative has issued one more pointless subpoena.”
The withdrawal from Afghanistan was initiated by the administration of then President Donald Trump, after many years of failing counterinsurgency operations towards the Taliban and lots of of billions of {dollars} in US taxpayer cash spent. The ultimate pullout occurred below his successor, Joe Biden, and Republicans have been extremely crucial of the way it was accomplished.
The withdrawal led to 13 US service members being killed in a bomb assault in Kabul, which was masterminded by the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS). Shortly afterwards, US forces killed 10 civilians, together with seven kids, in a drone strike on the automobile of an assist employee, which the Individuals mistook as an imminent risk.
Final 12 months, the State Division launched an after-action report, which cited lack of disaster preparation below each administrations, miscommunication with the US-supported authorities in Kabul and different components explaining why the pullout was botched. It largely absolved the division, praising its workers for “nice agility, willpower, and dedication” below excessive circumstances.
