The chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs requested this Thursday from the State Department a series of documents related to the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021, ordered by the Biden Administration.
Thus, Republican Michael McCaul began the Committee’s investigation into Biden’s decision, and set January 26 as the deadline for the State Department to respond to his request. Otherwise, he promised to use the power of subpoena.
“It is imperative that the State Department provide full responses to these long-standing requests, and the Committee will not tolerate continued delays,” the Republican told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a letter to the which CNN had access to.
“In the event of non-compliance, the Committee will use available authorities to enforce these requests as necessary, including through a mandatory process,” he warned.
In his 10-page letter, McCaul asked to provide the Committee with a list of all interagency meetings related to the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, as well as information on all meetings with the Taliban since January 2021. At the same time, the congressman assured that not only the planning and process of the withdrawal will be investigated, but also its subsequent effects.
McCaul raises questions such as what the Administration’s intentions are to terminate and/or reschedule foreign assistance in Afghanistan, or what relationship the Washington government currently has with the Taliban.
A chaotic retreat
On August 31, 2021, the conclusion of the withdrawal of US troops after 20 years on Afghan soil was confirmed. In the context of the withdrawal of Western troops, on August 15 of that year, the Taliban took control of the capital and ended their offensive throughout the country in a matter of several months. President Ashraf Ghani resigned from his post and hastily left Afghan territory.
Following the capture of Kabul, the Afghan capital’s airport was the scene of chaos as US and international forces tried to evacuate its citizens and vulnerable Afghans. Near the airport, where a crowd was gathering to try to flee the country, dozens of people died in stampedes. Many others lost their lives as a result of numerous attacks and explosions, some of them attributed to Daesh.
In addition, some civilians were victims of a US Army attack carried out with drones against a vehicle that allegedly threatened the Kabul airport. The action resulted in the death of 10 civilians, including seven children.
Joe Biden admitted when announcing the withdrawal of the troops that Washington failed to achieve all its peacebuilding goals after 20 years of military presence in the region, but stressed that the US did not go to Afghanistan to “build a nation”.
