Blinken to Face Further Scrutiny Over US Withdrawal from Afghanistan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will likely face another round of tough questioning from lawmakers over last month’s withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan when he appears Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

During a five-hour appearance via videoconference before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Monday, Blinken staunchly defended the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan after 20 years, never wavering in the face of harsh and angry questioning from some lawmakers.  The nation’s top diplomat told the panel that had U.S. President Joe Biden decided to extend the war, it “would have required sending substantially more U.S. forces into Afghanistan to defend ourselves and prevent a Taliban takeover, taking casualties – and with at best the prospect of restoring a stalemate and remaining stuck in Afghanistan, under fire, indefinitely.”   “There’s no evidence that staying longer would have made the Afghan security forces or the Afghan government any more resilient or self-sustaining,” he said. “If 20 years and hundreds of billions of dollars in support, equipment, and training did not suffice, why would another year, or five, or 10, make a difference?”