Republicans threaten Blinken with contempt over Afghanistan withdrawal cables | The Hill
By: Stephen Neukam (The Hill)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is threatening to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt if he does not turn over diplomatic cables related to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
McCaul has been in pursuit of a dissent cable from State Department officials from July 2021, which reportedly expressed grave concerns about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, warning about the fall of the U.S.-backed government.
Now the Texas Republican is threatening to hold Blinken in contempt if the State Department does not hand over the documents, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. He gave the department until Thursday to respond.
The reported cable came from a confidential "dissent channel," that allows State Department officials to communicate views that are contrary to administration policy and issue warnings. The cable reportedly included warnings about the fragility of the government in Kabul in the event of a U.S. withdrawal.
The Biden administration has faced harsh criticism from Republicans over its August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, with the Taliban quickly moving into power amid the bloody exit.
McCaul has argued that the disclosure of the cable is key to understanding the Biden administration's policies on the withdrawal and why the exit went like it did.
The State Department has thus far refused to turn over the documents to the panel, arguing it needs to maintain the integrity of the confidential channel. The department did offer to give lawmakers a briefing on the contents of the cable.
McCaul argued in his letter that the response by the department had been "insufficient" in complying with the panel's subpoena.
"Should you fail to comply, the Committee is prepared to take the necessary steps to enforce its subpoena, including holding you in contempt of Congress and/or initiating a civil enforcement proceeding," he wrote.
A State Department spokesperson told The Hill that the latest action from the committee was "unnecessary and unproductive."
"It's unfortunate that despite having received a classified briefing on the dissent channel cable as well as a written summary that the House Foreign Affairs Committee continues to pursue this unnecessary and unproductive action," the spokesperson said. "Nevertheless, we will continue to respond to appropriate oversight inquiries and provide Congress the information it needs to do its job while protecting the ability of State Department employees to do theirs."
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It's not hard to figure out the Biden Dumpster Fire policies on the withdrawal. It's similart to their border policy - pure garbage. They are responsible for the deaths of 13 US Service members and a hundred plus, Afghani. But Blinken will hold out. More than likely this cable backs up what most of us think.
The important question is whether or not the Biden administration knew the US backed Afghan government would collapse. The way the withdrawal was conducted depended upon the US backed government remaining in place which obviously didn't happen.
If the Biden administration claims ignorance of imminent collapse of the government then why didn't they know? Who dropped that ball? If the Biden administration knew the government would collapse then why wasn't that part of the planning?
If the Biden administration did not know the weakness of the Afghan government it is another example of incompetence