Blinken to testify in Congress on Afghanistan weeks before his term ends

11/12/2024 19:17

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will testify to a Republican-led House of Representatives committee on Wednesday on the August 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending a long dispute with the panel weeks before the end of his term.



The House Foreign Affairs Committee and the State Department have have been wrangling over Blinken's appearance for months. Panel Republicans voted in September - weeks before the presidential election - to recommend the top U.S. diplomat be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena.



The U.S.'s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war became intensely politicized during the 2024 president campaign pitting President-elect Donald Trump against Vice President Kamala Harris.



Democrats have insisted some blame for the messy end of the war - less than seven months into Joe Biden's presidency - should be laid at the feet of Trump, who began the withdrawal process by signing a deal with Afghanistan's militant Islamist Taliban in 2020.