Rep. Mike McCaul, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, stated that he still intends to have Secretary of State Antony Blinken testify about the withdrawal from Afghanistan and threatened to hold him in contempt of Congress if he does not comply. McCaul released a 350-page report detailing the failure of the withdrawal and laying blame on the State Department for not having a plan to evacuate Americans and allies when troops were still present to protect them. He subpoenaed Blinken and demanded his appearance by September 19th, setting the stage for a potential showdown between Congress and the administration.
State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel dismissed the threats from the committee, stating that the majority is not interested in Afghanistan policy legislation and suggesting that they waited until the report was completed to request Blinken’s testimony. McCaul had previously requested Blinken’s appearance in September, but the State Department was unable to provide a date for his testimony. However, the State Department emphasized that Blinken had testified before House and Senate committees multiple times on the withdrawal, including appearances before the Foreign Affairs Committee.
McCaul also indicated that he believes there should still be a small contingent of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and criticized the Biden administration for the strategic consequences of the withdrawal. He argued that the lack of U.S. presence in Afghanistan limits visibility on potential threats from countries like Russia, China, Iran, and extremist groups like ISIS. While the Biden administration has cited the Doha agreement reached under the Trump administration as a factor in the withdrawal timeline, the report alleges that the Taliban did not uphold their end of the agreement, negating any obligation for the U.S. to adhere to it.
The report also highlights discrepancies in the actions of the U.S. military and the State Department during the withdrawal, pointing to instances where the State Department scaled up operations while the military was reducing its presence. Allegations against U.S. Ambassador Ross Wilson surfaced, claiming that he left the country ahead of his staff amid the chaos of the evacuation, allegedly due to having COVID-19 and forcing a foreign service officer to take his test. Patel defended Wilson and criticized the report for being sensationalist and misrepresenting the administration’s efforts in the withdrawal.
Patel maintained that the withdrawal from Kabul was in line with department protocols despite the chaotic situation, and that it resulted in the processing of over 18,000 Afghan special immigrant visas for U.S. allies. He stated that he did not have an exact count of how many Americans remained in Afghanistan but focused on the administration’s efforts to evacuate Afghan allies. The report and subsequent threats of contempt towards Blinken reflect ongoing tensions between Congress and the Biden administration over the handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal and its aftermath. The standoff raises questions about accountability, transparency, and the strategic implications of the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.
