OAN Staff James Myers
1:25 PM – Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Secretary of State Antony Blinken ultimately agreed to testify before 118 people, despite the threat of a contempt vote.th HFAC Chairman Michael McCall made the announcement Tuesday in response to questions from the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) about the turbulent 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.
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“After months of good faith efforts and repeated encounters with obstruction from the State Department, I am proud to have secured Secretary Blinken's appearance on the committee,” said McCaul (R-Texas). “We believe his testimony will bring long-overdue accountability and transparency to the American people, our allies in Afghanistan, and our Gold Star families.”
A hearing is scheduled for December 11th.thThe meeting comes three months after Mr. Blinken violated a Congressional subpoena to appear in court and missed a similar hearing before the committee “despite repeated warnings and considerations,” the committee said.
The Foreign Relations Committee then moved to hold Mr. Blinken in contempt of Congress for his refusal, which Mr. McCaul argued Tuesday ultimately forced America's top diplomats to cooperate.
“It is unfortunate that the Chief Justice agreed to appear only after my committee pursued a contempt action against him,” McCall said.
“While I wish he had not delayed this important appearance until the end of his term as Secretary of State, it is important that House Republicans and the next administration listen to his testimony to ensure this never happens again.” I look forward to asking you questions.”
Kabul finally fell to the Taliban on August 15th.thIn 2021, just two weeks before the remaining US troops leave Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden ordered a non-combatant evacuation mission after the Afghan government completely collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of Afghans in the Aug. 26 riot.thSuicide bomb attack by ISIS-K in 2021.
Meanwhile, the committee is now expected to press Blinken for additional information on internal State Department warnings about Biden's plan to completely withdraw the United States from the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
This also follows a House of Commons committee requesting specific information since the investigation began in 2022. Twenty-three diplomats reportedly warned of the Taliban's rapid advance ahead of the withdrawal.
After months of back-and-forth with the State Department, the committee finally received a version of the report for consideration in 2023.
Then in September, the commission released its own report detailing the horrific withdrawal. Reports say Biden was so intent on getting out of Afghanistan that he ignored any advice from the Pentagon and State Department before starting, ignored pleas from the Afghan government, and ignored other objections from U.S. allies. It has become partially clear what happened.
“Despite President Biden’s public assertions to the contrary, our investigation reveals that the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Commander of U.S. Central Command, Secretary of State, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, The identity of the commander has been revealed.'' NATO Resolute Support Mission and U.S. Forces Afghanistan officials all recommended against the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from the country, both during and after the intergovernmental review.'' Page 350 said the report.
The report also found that Biden administration officials repeatedly lied to the American public to hide the consequences of the president's decisions.
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