Blinken returns to the hot seat for another day of grilling
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will face another day of grilling when he testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Monday afternoon and the panel’s Senate counterpart Tuesday. He is not in the Capitol to answer questions spontaneously. He is connected via computer, where he can enjoy the advantages of help from advisors. Yesterday he got tossed a curveball as one Representative deviated from the questions on Afghanistan and asked about Hunter Biden:
He was left stamering about how he can't comment and needed lots of help from the partisan chairman. In addition Blinken seems focused on western values that he hopes the Taliban will adopt or that they can partner with the US. That has always been a progressive fantasy. The reality, for all to see, is that the Taliban, and sharia supremacists generally, have imposed a totalitarian system that is inherently discriminatory and cruel.They have no interest in democratic elections or the will of the people.
It's time to get answers from the top U.S. diplomat in charge of the evacuation efforts that left 13 American troops dead, 18 wounded, and scores of Afghan casualties.
It's time to find out precisely how many Americans are still stranded and the number of U.S. evacuees.
It's time to explain the vetting of Afghans.
It's time to find out how much military equipment was left behind and why.
Lasy but not least, it's time to find out the truth about that drone strike
Here is the full hearing from yesterday:
The hearings have become important for any American looking for accountability & transparency. Republicans see the hearings as their first chance to directly confront a top-ranking Biden official about the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Democrats see it as a moment in which they must protect the cognitively challenged Biden. Yesterday Blinken blamed everyone else for the Afghan debacle.
C-Span will have it and I believe Fox News will carry it live.
Enjoy!
Republicans will let Blinken off the hook. They're only searching for cheap political score points. Republicans in Congress really aren't any different than Democrats. It's all about protecting their incumbency.
There are tough questions that Blinken needs to be asked. Did the Biden withdrawal plans include removing embassy personnel? Did those plans include burning sensitive documents in the courtyard of the embassy? Were preparations made to speed up processing of visa requests and green card applications? Were negotiated agreements to house and accept refugees in place before the withdrawal? Were COVID vaccines deployed to vaccinate the refugees before entering the United States? Did the State Dept. plan a withdrawal or did the State Dept. improvise at the last minute?
The State Dept. had more than eight months to plan and prepare. The State Dept. and military should have begun their planning while Trump was still in office. Blinken claiming he inherited a deadline but not a plan from the Trump administration really is an admission of incompetence. Blinken is defending himself by blaming the previous administration for not having done the job he is responsible for doing.
But Republicans will let Blinken off the hook. It's not about finding answers, it's all about the next election.
Blinken now giving a well written statement. Safe & secure until the questioning begins.
Senate Foreign Relations chair Bob Menendez said on Tuesday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to testify on the Afghanistan withdraw and threatened to issue a subpoena if he doesn't agree testify in the near future.
Menendez made the comments during a hearing with Secretary of State Tony Blinken about the Biden administration's handling of the Afghanistan withdraw.
"I'm very disappointed that Secretary Austin declined our request to testify today. A full accounting of the U.S. response to this crisis is not complete without the Pentagon – especially when it comes to understanding the complete collapse of the U.S. trained and funded Afghan military. His decision not to appear before the committee will affect my judgement on Department of Defense nominees," Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, said at the hearing.
"I expect that the secretary will avail himself to the committee in the near future. If he does not, I may consider the use of the committee’s subpoena power to compel him and others over the course of these last twenty years to testify," Menendez added.
Sen. Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the committee has many questions for Austin and also called on him to testify.
Gee, I wonder why?
Austin may just as well have plead the 5th!
If he had any integrity he'd resign. That goes for Blinken and Milley too.
How many political hacks have you seen that had integrity? That is certainly not a job requirement.
Even Nixon resigned.
Yep. He knew to do what was best for the country.
Please note, that he also, was of the opinion that he got robbed - in 1960.
He knew, at least, that dividing the country over it was wrong. People have changed, haven't they?
Will the GOP Reps keep on the topic today or will they try to bring Hunter Biden into it again?
If you watched, Blinken acquitted himself very well.
Matter of opinion.
That's your opinion.
I am welcome to mine just as you are welcome to yours and I respect your right to yours. Have a good day.
Might as well have said that they handed the Taliban $64 million in humanitarian assistance; because nothing is getting done in Afghanistan right now w/o the Taliban's approval. The assistance will go where the Taliban wants it to go, period.
For many, Joe Biden is the gift that keeps on giving!