For more than a year, Rep. Michael McCaul says his pleas for answers about the withdrawal from Afghanistan have gone largely unanswered.
But now the top Republican has been installed as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, with all the powers that entails.
On Thursday evening, he gave the State Department until Jan. 26 to respond to his committee’s investigation.
“It is imperative that the State Department provide full responses to these long-standing requests and the Committee will not tolerate any further delays,” he wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Tony Blinken.
“In the event of non-compliance, the Committee will use the authorities at its disposal to enforce such requests, including through compulsory enforcement, as necessary.”
House Republicans on Thursday night stepped up their call for answers to what led to such chaotic scenes at the end of the 20-year US war in Afghanistan
Rep. Michael McCaul (left), the newly installed chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken Thursday with a 10-page list of questions about the chaotic disengagement from Afghanistan and its aftermath
Because Republicans now control a majority of the House of Representatives, they have the power to use subpoenas in their investigations.
And the probe into President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, which brought about the rapid advance of the Taliban, the collapse of the government in Kabul and the tragedy that left 13 US soldiers dead, is just one of several they plan to bring .
In his 10-page letter, McCaul requests information on exit planning, details of any interagency meetings on Afghanistan beforehand, and US contacts with the Taliban.
When he issued the letter, he made it clear that he was frustrated that his previous requests had been blocked.
“It is absurd and shameful that the Biden administration has repeatedly denied our longstanding oversight requests and continues to withhold information about the withdrawal,” he said.
Continued non-compliance will not be tolerated, he added.
McCaul’s letter sets a January 26 deadline for a response and describes how previous requests for information – dating back to August 2021 – have not been answered
Tens of thousands of Afghans were rushed out of Kabul after the Taliban took control
“In the event of continued non-compliance, the committee will use the authorities at its disposal to enforce these requests, including through compulsory enforcement, as appropriate,” he said.
“As Chair, I take this obligation very seriously and will continue this investigation until all our questions are answered and all those responsible are held accountable.
“We owe this to the American people, especially our service members and veterans.”
The withdrawal from Afghanistan was the darkest moment of Biden’s first year in office.
In April 2021, he announced US troops would leave the country by September 11, in what critics called an awkward political timeline.
When the supporter left, Afghan forces — designed to operate with US air support — crumbled.
Amidst the crowds around the airport, parents raised children to Turkish soldiers and US Marines
The Taliban had been advancing for weeks, simply speeding into the capital Kabul before American troops completed their evacuation.
The result was chaos. Tens of thousands of foreigners and Afghans who had worked with US forces flocked to Hamid Karzai International Airport for safety.
Faced with questions as to why the Taliban takeover had not been foreseen, American forces had to rely on the extremist militant group to provide security around the airport to keep the operation running.
A US drone strike killed 10 civilians, including children, after 13 Americans were killed in a suicide bombing.
McCaul’s letter also addresses the fallout, demanding to know how many American citizens are still in Afghanistan and how the evacuation of Afghan allies was handled.