Blinken faces new round of hard Afghan questions in Congress

Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced a second day of tough congressional questions Tuesday about the Biden administration’s much-criticized withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Blinken sought to parry a new wave of bipartisan lawmaker anger over the operation that resulted in the complete takeover by the Taliban, and has left many American citizens, green card holders and at-risk Afghans stranded in the country.

The top two members of the committee, New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez and Idaho Republican James Risch, both assailed the withdrawal as a debacle in their opening remarks.

“The execution of the U.S. withdrawal was clearly and fatally flawed,” said committee chairman Menendez, who has been generally supportive of President Joe Biden’s foreign policy but has taken issue with several of its aspects, including Afghanistan.

“This committee expects to receive a full explanation of this administration’s decisions on Afghanistan since coming into office last January,” Menendez said. “There has to be accountability.”

“The withdrawal was a dismal failure,” said Risch, the ranking GOP member of the panel, accusing the administration of “ineptitude” that has cost the United States international credibility, led to a deadly attack on U.S. troops and Afghan civilians at the Kabul airport and left many in the lurch.

“There’s not enough lipstick in the world to put on this pig to make it look any different than what it actually is,” Risch said.