U.S. Secretary of State faces angry lawmakers at hearing on Afghanistan withdrawal

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed back Monday against harsh Republican criticism of the handling of the military withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying the Biden administration inherited a deal with the Taliban to end the war, but no plan for carrying it out.

In a sometimes contentious hearing Monday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Blinken sought to blunt complaints from angry GOP lawmakers about the administration's response to the quick collapse of the Afghan government and, more specifically, the State Department's actions to evacuate Americans and others. Blinken echoed White House talking points blaming the Trump administration for the situation that U.S. President Joe Biden inherited in Afghanistan. Republicans savaged the withdrawal as "a disaster" and "a disgrace." And while some Democrats allowed that the operation could have been handled better, many used their questions to heap criticism on former president Donald Trump. Blinken said Biden's administration did not consider renegotiating the withdrawal agreement Trump's government struck with the Taliban because of threats from the group to resume killing Americans. "There's no evidence that staying longer would have made the Afghan security forces or the Afghan government any more resilient or self-sustaining," Blinken said. The State Department has come under heavy criticism from both sides for not doing enough and not acting quickly enough to get American citizens, legal residents and at-risk Afghans out of the country after the Taliban took control of Kabul on Aug. 15. Some seeking to leave remain there, although Blinken could not provide an exact number. He said roughly 100 U.S. citizens remain, along with about "several thousand" green card holders. "This was an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions," said Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the committee. He said the abrupt withdrawal along with leaving some Americans and Afghans behind had "emboldened the Taliban" and other U.S. adversaries. "I can summarize this in one word: betrayal."