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Tags: house | republicans | foreign affairs | afghanistan | withdrawal

House GOP Expanding Investigation Into Afghanistan Withdrawal

By    |   Saturday, 07 September 2024 11:55 AM EDT

The House Republicans' investigation into the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan is expanding, with additional witnesses being called in to testify.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee's majority has contacted at least three senior military officers who were involved in the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Kabul in August 2021, The Washington Post reported.

Testimony may be sought from Army Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, Navy Rear Adm. Peter Vasely, who recently retired from active duty, and Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Farrell Sullivan, who supervised U.S. forces during the evacuation, according to sources close to the matter.

Vasely and Sullivan have also spoken out about their frustration with the administration's management of the withdrawal.

Pentagon spokesman James Adams confirmed Sullivan, Vasely, and Donahue provided their "personal views and perspectives" about the withdrawal to lawmakers, and said the military is not aware of any further requests for testimony from them or other personnel.

The Foreign Affairs Committee had been expected to have had its investigation wrapped up by now but Republicans on the committee have subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken and are pushing to speak with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

But a committee aide, speaking anonymously, said investigators are reviewing their responses, and said they may be called in for further testimony.

Matthew Miller, a spokesman for Blinken, accused the committee's GOP leaders of "acting in bad faith," and White House spokeswoman Sharon Yang commented in a statement that the administration has taken "extraordinary measures to be cooperative" with the House probes.

This includes making senior officials available for hearings and producing documents, she said.

The plan to expand the investigation comes as former President Donald Trump a key focus of his campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris.

The two will debate Tuesday, and Monday, just before the debate, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is expected to release a report condemning Harris and President Joe Biden for the White House's handling of the withdrawal.

Democrats in the committee are expected to also release a report in defense of the administration.

The Post's sources said the testimony from the three military commanders is not expected to be in either reports but may be made public at another time.

Meanwhile, the Afghanistan War Commission, a bipartisan examination mandated by Congress concerning the full 20 years of the conflict, commenced in July and is expected to make its findings public by August 2028. 

Trump's campaign has been pointing to the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate that killed 13 U.S. service members to cast blame on Harris. Several of the victims' families are backing Trump and defending him against critics who say he is using the deaths to score political points. 

The Foreign Affairs Committee's Democrats say the investigation is partisan and does not explore how Trump's negotiations and deal with the Taliban, signed in February 2020, set up the conditions for the collapse of Afghanistan.

Sandy Fitzgerald

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


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The House Republicans' investigation into the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan is expanding, with additional witnesses being called in to testify.
house, republicans, foreign affairs, afghanistan, withdrawal
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2024-55-07
Saturday, 07 September 2024 11:55 AM
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