Blinken defends Afghanistan withdrawal decision and process before U.S. Congress
The Hindu
Blinken said he was in “ constant contact” with U.S. allies and partners “to hear their views and factor them” into U.S. thinking on withdrawal.
Testifying before a U.S. House of Representatives Committee, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw after two decades, as well as the , characterized by chaos and violence focused around Kabul’s airport. Mr Blinken, in his opening remarks, which he delivered via video-link to the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) on Monday afternoon, suggested that President Joe Biden had inherited a bad deal on Afghanistan from his predecessor, Donald Trump, that the alternative to withdrawal would have cost lives, and that the withdrawal was coordinated with America’s partners. The secretary said the Trump administration had pressed the (former) Afghan government to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners, including “top war commanders” and . This put the Taliban in its strongest position since September 2001 and the U.S. had its smallest troop level since the invasion, Mr Blinken said.More Related News