House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is seeking interviews with nine Biden administration officials about his disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Texas Republican demanded that the nine key current and former officials contact his committee by September 7 as he continues to investigate “the chaotic and deadly withdrawal of the Biden administration.”
“Through our ongoing investigation, we have determined that these individuals hold important information that is critical to uncovering how and why the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in a shameful surrender to the Taliban, the deaths of 13 US service members and injuries to 45 more, all of which could have been prevented,” McCaul said in a statement.
“This was an absolute disaster of epic proportions and I will not rest until the American people receive the transparency and answers they deserve,” he added.
“The committee will continue to interview current and former administration officials involved in the planning and execution of the withdrawal.”
The nine people include Ross Wilson, former US acting ambassador to Afghanistan; Brian McKeon, former Under Secretary of State for Management and Resources; Zalmay Khalilzad, former Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation; Carol Pérez, former Acting Undersecretary of State for Management; Ambassador John Bass; Derek Chollet, Counsel to the Secretary; Suzy George, chief of staff to the Secretary; Salman Ahmed, Director of the Policy Planning Staff; and Dean Thompson, US ambassador to Nepal.
Texas Rep. Michael McCaul comforts Paula Knauss Selph, mother of Army Sgt. Ryan Christian Knauss, who died in the Afghanistan airport bombing in 2021.REUTERS
McCaul during a roundtable with Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing.REUTERS
McCaul issued the demand on Wednesday, two years after the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, his panel heard harrowing stories from families of the 13 US soldiers who died in the ISIS-K suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport days before the withdrawal was to end.
Michael McCaul is immersed in an investigation into the Biden administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.AP
Since taking over the committee, McCaul has demanded numerous documents and transcribed interviews from the Biden administration on Afghanistan.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to reconvene on September 12, days after the deadline McCaul gave for the nine people to contact his panel.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn