The News
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will face a hostile panel of House lawmakers on Wednesday when he finally sits down before the Foreign Affairs Committee to testify on America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Blinken will discuss the withdrawal “in the context of a two-decades-long war that took the lives of 2,500 Americans and cost more than $2 trillion,” a source familiar with his testimony said, noting that he will criticize the Trump-era Doha agreement for leaving the Taliban in a stronger position than it had been since 2001.
Blinken will also commend officials who have worked to resettle thousands of Afghan allies in the US. House Republicans on the committee, who accused the administration of misleading the public about the withdrawal in a September report, recommended the top US diplomat be held in contempt of Congress for failing to appear following a subpoena.