Biden minister in Afghanistan cross-examination: Republicans demand resignation - is Trump to blame for the chaos?

The political reappraisal of the Afghanistan disaster begins.

Some poison arrows are flying in the US House of Representatives.

Foreign Minister Blinken meanwhile blames Trump for the chaos.

Washington - Shortly before the troops withdrew from Afghanistan, the situation on the ground worsened extremely.

The militant Islamist Taliban captured the capital Kabul within a few days in August, overthrew the government and declared themselves the new rulers.

The last US troops left Afghanistan on August 31st.

The political reappraisal of the chaotic withdrawal has only just begun - not in Kabul, but in Washington and Berlin.

Afghanistan: "Blinken was grilled" - Republicans shoot at US Secretary of State

The political leaders in the West are faced with unpleasant questions after 20 years of work on the ground. In Germany there could soon be a committee of inquiry into Afghanistan. The criticized SPD Foreign Minister Heiko Maas * had recently also spoken out in favor of dealing with the operation following demands from the opposition. How such a U-Committee could work has now become apparent in the USA. The Democratic Foreign Minister Antony Blinken found himself on Monday in the hour-long cross-examination in the House of Representatives *. “Blinken was grilled,” headlined the

New York Times

.

The Democratic politician, in particular, was hit by criticism from the Republicans *.

The senior Republican on the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Michael McCaul, said: "It was a disaster of epic proportions." He never thought that he would see an "unconditional surrender" to the Taliban.

Congressman Brian Mast confronted Blinken with portraits of the 13 US soldiers who were killed in the attack at Kabul airport.

Blinken is responsible for the dead.

“13 American heroes are dead because of the arrogance, incompetence and inability of this government.

Blinken must be held accountable. "

Afghanistan: "Take Responsibility" - Republicans Call For Blinken To Resign

Other Republican politicians have also called for the Blinken to resign. "You should resign," said Joe Wilson from South Carolina. "Take any responsibility for this disastrous withdrawal, Minister," said Ann Wagner of Missouri. "Or do you still want to call it a success?"

Blinken told Wagner that he wanted to take responsibility for the decision.

The foreign minister also admitted a "suboptimal" situation.

However, that does not mean a resignation.

Because: “We made the right decision to end America's longest war.” The Republican Party comes to a different assessment when, for example, in the person of MP Steve Chabot, it raises the question of whether the withdrawal from Afghanistan is “the worst foreign policy catastrophe in of American history ”.

+

Was digitally connected to the meeting: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in office since January 2021.

© Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images / AFP

Afghanistan: Blinken defends troop withdrawal and attacks Trump administration

Blinken tried to defend the troop withdrawal carried out under President Joe Biden *. Heiko Maas' counterpart argued that Biden faced the choice of withdrawing troops or escalating the war against the Taliban. There is no evidence that an extension of the mission would have pacified the situation. "Even the most pessimistic assessments did not predict that government forces in Kabul would collapse while US forces stayed," he said.

Blinken again blamed the government of Biden's predecessor Donald Trump * for the chaos during the withdrawal.

The Foreign Minister pointed out that Trump's government had already agreed with the Taliban to withdraw all US troops by May 1, and criticized the fact that there had been no plans for this.

“We inherited a deadline.

We have not inherited a plan. "

The next Afghanistan begins - in Washington

Meanwhile, the Democrats criticized party-political instrumentalization of the Afghanistan situation. "Once again domestic policy is fed into foreign policy," stated the democratic committee chairman Gregory Meeks. Instead of assigning blame in Washington, help is needed in Kabul. At the same time, Meeks not only wants to deal with the chaotic troop withdrawal, but also the operation in general. "This is a war that should have ended 19 years ago - with a different outcome." There was also criticism from within the party. Some Democrats pointed to the desperation of local Afghan workers who had not been evacuated and who were now wondering how they would survive under Taliban rule.

Blinken will face the US Senate on Tuesday (September 14th). Presumably, Democrats and Republicans will attack each other again. To what extent this is good for the work-up remains to be seen. As a result,

Der Spiegel sums it up

: "The next war in Afghanistan begins - in Washington".

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