US State Secretary defends Biden govt’s Afghanistan withdrawal decision  

WASHINGTON: United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, appeared before the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, where he defended US President Joe Biden administration’s decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

The unexpected and sudden withdrawal of the North American country from Afghanistan led to immediate downfall of the US-planted Afghan movement to the Taliban.

Read more: The Israeli Jews who spied for Iran in biggest infiltration in decades

During his testimony, the US State Secretary stated that he “firmly believed [Biden’s] decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was  the right one”, despite facing interruptions from protestors.

The chairman of the committee, however, criticised the withdrawal. “Tragically, more than three years after this administration’s disastrous withdrawal, you are finally here to take responsibility”, he chided.

Blinken then countered that the responsibility for the situation did not lie solely with Biden’s administration, alluding to the Doha Agreement between Afghan Taliban and Trump’s administration during his first presidency.

The Doha agreement had  completely excluded the Afghan movement from the talks, who were also less than enthused at the glaring rebuff.

Blinken noted that the Taliban failed to uphold the agreement’s terms, which then forced the Biden administration to withdraw forces in August 2021 due to concerns over potential attacks.

The Republican congressmen accused Biden’s government of mishandling the  withdrawal and even misleading the US public about its implications.

Meanwhile, the Democrats in turn accused the Republicans of politicising the issue while neglecting to address the actions of  Donald Trump, who is set to begin his second term in January next year.

 The committee’s report lambasted the Biden administration for disregarding warnings about the dangers of a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Read more: Moscow is not willing to make concessions on Kyiv: Russia

Biden was in particular criticised for being “largely absent” during the planning and execution of the withdrawal.