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Secretary of State Antony Blinken can expect the most aggressive interrogation of his career when he testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday and before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
Why is this important: Republicans see the hearings as their first chance to confront a senior Biden official directly over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Democrats see it as a time to reject GOP efforts to blame President Biden for 20 years of bipartisan mistakes.
The big picture: We spoke to lawmakers and staff about what they plan to ask.
Republicans say they will demand to find out exactly how many Americans and allies remain stranded in Afghanistan, following the latest evacuations and lingering obstacles – and how precisely the United States plans to release them.
- They want to know the specific distribution of those who went out (holders of special visas, people “at risk”, etc.) and the control process for the crushing of evacuees who were transported by plane.
- Expect them to raise concerns about convicted felons or members of terrorist watchlists among the evacuees – and to cite a particularly poignant story from the PA of “child brides” being trafficked into the evacuees. United States during chaos.
- They will use viral footage of Taliban fighters wearing US military gear and piloting Black Hawk helicopters to hammer Blinken on how the US will manage an arsenal now controlled by the Taliban. The Pentagon insists that the equipment left at Kabul airport was “demilitarized” and “unusable,” but it is clear that this is not the case across the country.
If and how the United States recognizes the Taliban government is a key issue now that an interim cabinet in Afghanistan has been formed – one with the leader of the Haqqani network linked to al-Qaeda and a terrorist wanted by the FBI as Home Secretary.
- GOP members will highlight the administration’s downplaying of the Taliban’s ties to terrorist networks and reliance on the Taliban for security cooperation. They will pressure Blinken to prevent the Taliban from accessing more than $ 9 billion in Afghan assets frozen in the US financial system.
The other side: Democrats will highlight the peace deal the Trump administration brokered with the Taliban and quote Donald Trump’s own boasting in June: “I started the process, all troops are coming home. [Biden] could not stop the process. “
- “My # 1 question for Secretary Blinken: Can you now describe to us the detailed and thoughtful plan prepared by the Trump administration for how we would exit Afghanistan in an orderly fashion? Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) Told Axios in an interview.
- “Let’s face it, this mission was perilous, because there is no way to escape without causing a stampede, and there is no way to have an orderly and meritorious stampede,” he added.
- A Democratic source told Axios that Republicans “make him a Benghazi as much as they can.” The source said that, according to Democrats, “this is not January 6. This is a review of US policy toward a country at 20 years war.”
For memory : State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that Blinken “has prioritized engagement with Congress from his earliest days” in office, including in recent briefings and appeals on the Afghanistan, and that he “appreciates the opportunity to testify.”
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