Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Politics

Republican demands info from State Department on delayed Afghanistan flights

by December 17, 2024
December 17, 2024

A Republican congressman is disputing Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s insistence that the State Department did not block citizens from leaving Mazar-i-Sharif Airbase in Afghanistan during the frenzied withdrawal. 

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, wrote a letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, demanding to know how many planes the State Department blocked from leaving the airbase, who made the call on whether to clear flights for takeoff, what the criteria for blocking delaying flights was and whether there had been communication with the Taliban.

Following the withdrawal, reports emerged that 1,000 people, including Americans, were stuck at Mazar-i-Sharif Airport awaiting clearance for their charter flights to leave. 

Many had made the 400-mile trek from Kabul to be able to get out more quickly at the airport in northern Afghanistan. 

One flight organizer told Reuters the State Department had failed to tell the Taliban of its approval for flight departures in Mazar-i-Sharif or validate a landing site. 

Davidson said in the letter that when he was in talks with the State Department, an official asked him ‘which tail number’ he was referring to, insinuating more than one flight had not received authorization to take off and been delayed. 

Col. Francis Hoang, who worked on Afghanistan evacuations with his group Allied Airlift 21, told the Foreign Affairs Committee, ‘We spent three weeks hiding these nearly 400 people from the Taliban, keeping them alive and fed using funds from American donors.’

During a hearing last week, Davidson asked Blinken, ‘Did the State Department block American citizens from departing from the airfield in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan?’ 

‘Absolutely not,’ said Blinken. 

‘You know they were blocked!’ said Davidson. 

‘I’d be happy to look at any information you have on that. I’m not aware of any American citizens who were blocked.’

‘I have the emails. I have the photographs of American, blue passport-holding American citizens who were on the airfield awaiting departure that got clearance for safe third countries to depart to, and the order came down from the United States government. Was it the State Department?’ Davidson asked. 

Blinken’s testimony came three months after the committee voted along party lines to recommend he be held in contempt of Congress, when he refused to appear to testify again about the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. 

Republicans released a lengthy report in September highlighting how State Department officials had no plan for getting Americans and allies out while there were still troops there to protect them. 

The report claimed that Ross Wilson, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan at the time, grew the embassy’s footprint instead of sending personnel home despite warnings from military officials that a Taliban takeover was imminent. 

‘You ignored warnings of collapse from your own personnel,’ Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul told Blinken. 

Blinken defended the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal, saying every American who wanted to leave had been given the opportunity to do so and thousands of Afghans have been resettled internationally. 

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to ask for the resignation of every senior official ‘who touched the Afghanistan calamity.’

Democrats, meanwhile, insist the blame for the 20-year war’s acrimonious end lies with a deal Trump negotiated with the Taliban for U.S. withdrawal.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Liberal Supreme Court justice makes ‘cringe’ cameo performance on Broadway
next post
House GOP lawmaker rejects committee assignments to dedicate time to DOGE

You may also like

CNN Panel Shocked! Exit Polls Spell Trouble For...

November 8, 2022

Joe Biden Admits Life is Hell Under His...

November 2, 2022

Lawmakers introduce legislation holding UNRWA accountable for joining,...

May 7, 2024

President-elect Trump to meet Biden in Oval Office...

November 9, 2024

BREAKING: DOJ Recommending Steve Bannon Be Sentenced to...

October 17, 2022

White House unleashes on ‘rogue bureaucrats’ after agency...

March 8, 2025

It’s Official. Mike Lindell Is Running For RNC...

November 29, 2022

Trump-backed Majewski launches 2nd bid against longtime Ohio...

April 13, 2023

Biden maintains he will not enforce TikTok ban,...

January 17, 2025

Trump threatens Iran over nukes as DNI Gabbard...

April 1, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Biden only hand-signed one pardon during final spree, and it was his most controversial one

      June 5, 2025
    • GOP bill takes aim at Congress’ ‘no rules apply’ emergency spending

      June 5, 2025
    • White House highlights Pelosi hypocrisy after Schiff demands Trump admin financial, ethics docs

      June 5, 2025
    • Musk says Trump would have lost 2024 election without him as ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ feud continues

      June 5, 2025
    • Ex-Biden advisor calls Jean-Pierre ‘kinda dumb,’ deletes tweet, says she’s not a ‘genius-level Black woman’

      June 5, 2025
    • Harmony Squad: Supreme Court Issues Six Unanimous Decisions

      June 5, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,149)
    • Investing (2,011)
    • Politics (15,538)
    • Stocks (3,128)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved