Capitol Hill hearings will focus on Afghanistan withdrawal
Congress is quickly launching investigations into how the Taliban so easily took over the government in Afghanistan.
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to testify on the situation.
“The situation in Afghanistan is rapidly changing, and it is imperative that the administration provide the American people and Congress transparency about its Afghanistan strategy," Meeks, D-N.Y., said in a statement issued Tuesday. He wants Blinken and Austin to "tell Congress what the administration’s plan is to safely evacuate American citizens, SIVs, and other vulnerable Afghans from the country, and to understand our broader counter terrorism strategy in South Asia following the collapse of the Ghani government.”
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made a similar call on Tuesday, saying the panel will conduct a hearing on "U.S. policy towards Afghanistan, including the Trump administration’s flawed negotiations with Taliban, and the Biden administration’s flawed execution of the U.S. withdrawal."
After being told the Afghan security forces were "up to the task" and ready to fight the Taliban, Menendez said, "To see this army dissolve so quickly after billions of dollars in U.S. support is astounding."
– Katie Wadington
Did intelligence fail? How did Afghanistan end this way? The finger-pointing begins.
Breaking down the speed of Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan
The speed in which Taliban forces moved across Afghanistan surprised U.S. officials. President Joe Biden announced April 14 that all American troops would be withdrawn by Sept. 11. The drawdown began May 1. But this graphical look at the Taliban takeover shows just how quickly the Afghanistan government lost control.
That takeover led to tumult at the airport in Kabul as thousands tried to feel the country. Disturbingly vivid images from the airport showed dozens of desperate Afghans clinging to a U.S. Air Force C-17 jet as it took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport. At least seven people died in the chaos, USA TODAY reported. U.S. soldiers killed two armed people after being fired upon.
More:Here's how to help people fleeing Afghanistan and the families still in the country
Karzai, Abdullah meet with Taliban leader whom US has labeled a terrorist
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's former president has met with a senior leader of a powerful Taliban faction who was once jailed and whose group has been listed by the U.S. as a terrorist network.
Former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, a senior official in the ousted government, met with Anas Haqqani as part of preliminary meetings that a spokesman for Karzai said would facilitate eventual negotiations with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the top Taliban political leader.
The U.S. branded the Haqqani network a terrorist group in 2012, and its involvement in a future government could trigger international sanctions.
The Taliban have pledged to form an “inclusive, Islamic government,” although skeptics point to its past record of intolerance for those not adhering to its extreme interpretations of Islam.
— Associated Press
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