Blinken defends exit from Afghanistan
‘We inherited a deadline. We did not inherit a plan,’ he testifies in House hearing
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Antony Blinken staunchly defended the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in a contentious House hearing Monday that highlighted lasting partisan divisions over America’s longest war.
Republicans called President Joe Biden’s decision and execution of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan a “disgrace” and “an unmitigated disaster” that leaves Americans vulnerable to future terrorist attacks.
Democrats said the messy end to America’s 20-year military presence in Afghanistan was inevitable, and they pointed the finger at former President Donald Trump, who negotiated the full U.S. withdrawal in a 2020 agreement with the Taliban.
The hearing, held by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, marked the first time a top Biden administration official has testified publicly about the U.S. withdrawal and the chaotic effort to evacuate American citizens and Afghan allies.
Blinken and Democratic lawmakers emphasized that when Biden took office, he faced a May 1 deadline negotiated by Trump officials for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden extended the deadline to Sept. 11 but said any further delay would have risked reigniting the conflict and risking the lives of American forces.
“When you came into office on Jan. 20, we were committed to pulling everyone out of Afghanistan within three months,” said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif. “Did the Trump administration leave on your desk a pile of notebooks as to exactly how to carry out that plan? ... How meticulous was the planning?”
“We inherited a deadline. We did not inherit a plan,” Blinken responded.
Biden’s top diplomat noted that the Trump-negotiated deal paved the way for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners, including many of the militant Islamic group’s top fighters who quickly returned to the battlefield.
“After 20 years, 2,641 American lives lost, 20,000 injuries and $2 trillion dollars spent, it was time to end America’s longest war,” Blinken said in his opening remarks.
100 Americans still there
Blinken said about 100 American citizens remain in Afghanistan and want to leave. He said the State Department has assigned case workers to each U.S. citizen and is committed to evacuating those who want to leave.
“People are making decisions hour by hour, if not day by day, about whether to leave or not,” he said. The State Department offered 60 seats to Americans on two flights that left the country last week, but only 30 U.S. citizens were prepared to leave the country at that time, he said.
“Some declined to be on the first flights on Thursday and Friday for reasons including needing more time to make arrangements, wanting to remain with extended family for now, or medical issues that preclude traveling now,” he said. “We will continue to help Americans – and Afghans to whom we have a special commitment – depart Afghanistan if they choose.”
Blinken said he could not say how many legal permanent U.S. residents were still in Afghanistan, nor could he say how many Afghans eligible for special U.S. visas because of their service with American forces during the war were left behind.
Overall, the U.S. evacuated more than 120,000 Americans and Afghan allies before the military withdrew its last forces Aug. 30.
Blinken said he expected to have a more precise breakdown of that population in the coming weeks.
‘You should resign’
Several Republicans, including Reps. Lee Zeldin of New York and Joe Wilson of South Carolina, called for Blinken’s resignation.
Zeldin said the U.S. should not have set an “arbitrary” deadline for withdrawal.
“What we should have done was tell the Taliban that we are going to leave Afghanistan when we’re done bringing every last American home,” Zeldin said. “You should resign. That would be leadership.”
Wilson accused Blinken and Biden of overriding the advice of military leaders.
Blinken appeared unfazed by the calls for his resignation and other Republican criticism throughout the hourslong session.
“Let me simply thank the representative for his support for the men and women of the State Department. I appreciated that part of the statement,” he said in response to Wilson.
Abandoned weaponry
The U.S. military likely abandoned tens of millions of dollars’ worth of aircraft, armored vehicles and sophisticated defensive systems in the rush to leave the airport in Kabul, the capital, safely. Several Republicans asked Blinken to account for that trove of military equipment.
Blinken noted that millions of dollars in such equipment was handed over to the Afghan security forces, who had been America’s allies in the war. But those fighters surrendered in a matter of days to the Taliban, and Republican lawmakers noted that some of those weapons were now in the hands of the militant Islamic group.
“Our folks worked very hard to disable or dismantle equipment that we controlled,” Blinken said.
What isn’t already disabled would be soon, he said, because the equipment needs to be maintained, and the Taliban don’t have the capacity to do that.
Sherman said there was no way to get that equipment out of the country without either betraying Afghan security forces or risking major American casualties.