By Stephen Dinan – The Washington Times – Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Secretary of State Antony Blinken apologized Wednesday to the families of 13 U.S. troops killed by a suicide bomber during America’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying he wished the government had done more to protect them.

Mr. Blinken told Congress that the Biden administration has managed to blunt some of the withdrawal’s worst problems.

He said al Qaeda has not been able to revive itself inside Afghanistan and worries about stranded Americans haven’t come to fruition. The U.S. has rescued hundreds of people left in Afghanistan at the end of the August 2021 pullout.

Far from frayed alliances and falling U.S. standing, he said, America emerged with firmer friends and better security on the international stage. In particular, he said, the withdrawal allowed the U.S. to be in a position to build the coalition that helped Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

“It’s clear that our alliances, our partnerships, are stronger today than they have been in a generation,” he told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

With families of the 13 dead U.S. troops in the audience for the hearing, Mr. Blinken said, “I deeply regret that we did not do more and could not do more to protect them.”

He turned in particular to the family of Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee and said, “I wish that Nicole was here with us today. I’m deeply sorry she is not.”

Republicans welcomed the apology but were dismayed by what they saw as an attempt to rewrite history. They said Mr. Blinken couldn’t depart soon enough.

Rep. Michael McCaul, Texas Republican and committee chair, disputed Mr. Blinken’s suggestion that the Afghanistan withdrawal helped the U.S. be in a position to combat Russia.

He noted that Russian troops began mobilizing for the Ukraine invasion soon after the withdrawal.

“This catastrophic event was the beginning of a failed foreign policy that lit the world on fire,” Mr. McCaul said.

Rep. Warren Davidson, Ohio Republican, said Mr. Blinken oversaw an “unprecedented” 11 embassy evacuations during his tenure.

“It’s appalling to see you sit here and say, ‘I express sympathy,’ and yet have never acknowledged the failures or owned the consequences,” Mr. Davidson said.

The 20-year war effort in Afghanistan ousted the Taliban and installed and defended a more friendly government. Those gains immediately slipped away with the U.S. withdrawal.

Mr. Blinken said the Biden administration had to follow through with the withdrawal that President Trump negotiated. Still, the stunning collapse of the government and the advance of the Taliban in the summer of 2021 caught everyone by surprise.

“There was no consensus view that the government, the Afghan forces, were going to collapse,” he said.

The military was forced into a rushed evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies, had to dispose of U.S. equipment and tried to blunt the worst outcomes of a new Taliban-controlled government.

Mr. Blinken said the U.S. has evacuated every American who was in Afghanistan at the end of the pullout who has expressed an interest in leaving.

He said nearly 200,000 Afghans have been evacuated and resettled, including 68,000 who were allies in the U.S. war effort and were promised a safe escape in exchange for their assistance.

Mr. Blinken acknowledged struggles with Afghan allies who were promised a pass to the U.S. for assisting the war effort.

He said 54,000 Afghans await initial State Department approval, but only about 35% are likely to be approved. Another 10,000 have been approved and are awaiting a final in-person interview, but 9,000 are still in Afghanistan, where the U.S. doesn’t have any diplomatic presence.

He said 63,000 more Afghans have expressed interest in the program but have not completed an application.

Mr. Blinken also acknowledged that life has deteriorated for many ordinary Afghans, particularly women and children.

A morality law has eliminated “the few freedoms women had left.” It bans them from speaking, singing or laughing in public, according to the latest report by an inspector general overseeing U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.

Mr. Blinken acknowledged to Rep. Brian Mast, Florida Republican, that the U.S. has no diplomats in the country and has lost control of its embassy building. He couldn’t say who had taken over the property.

“We don’t have the ability, not being in Afghanistan, to control it,” the secretary said.

Mr. Mast, who will become chairman of the committee in the next Congress, wondered why the U.S. was still pumping money into Afghanistan if it couldn’t verify how it was being spent. He pointed to tens of millions of dollars spent to teach women how to farm and said that was troubling, given that women are banned from much of public life.

“We have no eyes on the ground,” Mr. Mast said.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, Michigan Republican, challenged Mr. Blinken’s assertion that all Americans who were left behind at the time of the evacuation and who wanted to get out have been helped.

The congressman said his office is in contact with people who are still stranded.

“We have citizens there who are not there voluntarily who want to get out, and the State Department has utterly failed them,” he said.

Rep. Cory Mills, Florida Republican, said Mr. Blinken made similar mistakes after Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel last year.

“I got 255 Americans out by myself before the State Department lifted a finger and did anything to bring a plane in,” he told the secretary.

Mr. Blinken denied that, aggravating Mr. Mills.

“How many Americans did you personally rescue, Sir?” he said.