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WASHINGTON — Underneath hearth from congressional Republicans about one of many darkest moments of Joe Biden’s presidency, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the administration’s dealing with of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying Democrats struggled to make one of the best of a nasty pullout deal struck by Donald Trump.
Blinken testified Wednesday earlier than the Republican-led Home Overseas Affairs Committee, going through questions and indignant criticism from lawmakers for the ultimate time in workplace. The highest U.S. diplomat was anticipated to depart for the Center East within the afternoon, however the back-and-forth with members, particularly Republicans who admonished the chaotic withdrawal as his defining legacy, delayed his departure.
Blinken mentioned a lot of the blame for the sudden collapse of Afghanistan’s U.S.-allied authorities and the chaotic August 2021 evacuation of People that adopted rested with a withdrawal deal President Trump had reached with the Taliban in 2020 earlier than leaving workplace.
“To the extent President Biden confronted a selection, it was between ending the battle or escalating it,” Blinken informed lawmakers. “Had he not adopted by means of on his predecessor’s dedication, assaults on our forces and allies would have resumed and the Taliban’s assault on the nation’s main cities would have commenced.”
However Rep. Michael McCaul and different Republican lawmakers portrayed Blinken and the Biden administration as ill-prepared and disengaged because the catastrophe grew, and intent on minimizing mounting proof that the Taliban would full a takeover of the nation earlier than the final U.S. troops departed.
“This catastrophic occasion was the start of a failed overseas coverage that lit the world on hearth,” McCaul, a Texas Republican, mentioned. He urged Blinken to take “accountability for the disastrous withdrawal.”
It was clear “it was going to be a catastrophe,” mentioned Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast, who will take over as chairman of the committee within the subsequent Congress.
The listening to got here on the finish of Blinken’s diplomatic service beneath Biden, with six weeks left earlier than Trump takes workplace, and on the finish of McCaul’s time main the Overseas Affairs committee. It served as a capstone to just about 4 years of animosity between the 2 over the top of America’s longest battle.
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