Updated January 15th, 2023 at 18:15 IST

US House Republicans launch probe into Biden regime's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan

Republicans have launched a probe into the Biden administration's retreating from Afghanistan in August in 2021, said the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Reported by: Saumya Joshi
Image: AP | Image:self
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Republicans have launched a probe into the Biden administration's retreating from Afghanistan in August in 2021, said the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs in a statement, reported ANI. The House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, Michael McCaul had sent a letter to the US State Secretary Antony Blinken asking for information in the matter. This comes after the Biden administration was accused by McCaul of not handing over the files and that the US President has now formally requested compliance as chair of the panel. 

Last year, at least three requests had been sent to the department for similar information by McCaul and Republicans officials on the committee. However, the department did not provide data on the evacuation from Afghanistan during that time as McCaul was in minority. Despite having no access to the files and interviews with State Department officials, the Republicans went ahead with their report against the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, reported CNN. And now the tables have turned since Republicans are holding a majority in the House and so have more power to extract more information from the administration.

House Foreign Affairs Committee's statement on US' withdrawal from Afghanistan

America's adversaries have been emboldened and the country has once again become a safe haven for terrorists after the Biden administration's "chaotic and deadly" Afghanistan evacuation, said House Foreign Affairs Committee in connection with US's withdrawal from Afghanistan. "Despite requesting documents and information on the withdrawal dating back to August 2021, the Biden administration has refused to provide Congress the transparency our nation's citizens deserve," McCaul's 10-page letter read, as per the statement.

"It is absurd and disgraceful that the Biden administration has repeatedly denied our longstanding oversight requests and continues to withhold information related to the withdrawal,'' McCaul wrote.

In the event of continued noncompliance, the Committee will use the authorities available to it to enforce these requests as necessary, including through a compulsory process," McCaul further stated while criticising the Biden administration.

US forces retreated from Afghanistan after two decades of military presence on August 31, 2021. The Afghan population has been facing a deepening economic, humanitarian, and security crisis after the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021. After two decades of war, tens of thousands of lives lost, and trillions of dollars spent, the Taliban ousted the Ashraf Ghani government in Kabul and returned to power.

(With inputs from ANI)

Image: AP

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Published January 15th, 2023 at 18:15 IST