Blinken Defends US Withdrawal From Afghanistan

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken beat back criticism of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan at a contentious congressional hearing as irate lawmakers accused the White House of presiding over a historic disaster.

In five hours of often testy exchanges with lawmakers, Blinken defended President Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of Afghanistan and pushed back on accusations that the State Department should have done more to help Americans and at-risk Afghans to be evacuated, blaming the previous administration for lacking a plan.

He repeatedly noted that Republican former president Donald Trump had negotiated the withdrawal agreement with the Taliban, and defended the Biden administration’s failure to renegotiate the deal.

He also insisted that threats from the hardline Islamist group to resume killing Americans were a security threat.

He added that there is no evidence that staying longer would have made the Afghan security forces or the Afghan government any more resilient or self-sustaining.

Members of Congress – Biden’s Democrats as well as opposition Republicans – have pledged to investigate since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan last month after a rapid advance.

Republican lawmakers have portrayed the pullout as chaotic and accused the president of abandoning Americans to the fate of the Taliban.

They noted that last year’s agreement with the Taliban, signed in the presence of Blinken’s predecessor Mike Pompeo, had set conditions for the withdrawal.