State Department officials, both current and former, fail to meet interview deadline on Afghan withdrawal.
Nine State Department Officials Fail to Comply with Interview Requests on Afghanistan Withdrawal
Nine current and former State Department officials have failed to comply with a deadline to submit to transcribed interviews with the House Foreign Affairs Committee regarding the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the committee’s chairman.
“The State Department has indicated that all requested department officials are willing to cooperate with the committee’s request but has yet to schedule any of the interviews,” said Mr. McCaul in a statement.
“I expect these interviews to be scheduled without further delay,” he continued. “These are crucial witnesses for the committee’s investigation, and I will leave no stone unturned in getting answers for our Gold Star families, veterans, and the American people.”
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The Epoch Times has reached out to the State Department for comment.
The current and former officials the committee wants interviews from are:
- Under Secretary of State for Management and former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass
- State Department Counselor Derek Chollet
- Chief of Staff to the Secretary Suzy George
- Director of Policy Planning Salman Ahmed
- U.S. Ambassador to Nepal and former Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Dean Thompson
- Former acting Under Secretary of State for Management Carol Perez
- Former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad
- Former Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian McKeon
- Former acting U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson
“Through our ongoing investigation, we have determined these individuals have important information that is critical to uncovering how and why the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in a disgraceful surrender to the Taliban, the death of 13 U.S. servicemembers, and the injury of 45 more — all of which could have been prevented,” said Mr. McCaul.
“This was an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions, and I will not rest until the American people receive the transparency and answers they deserve,” he continued. “The committee will continue to interview additional current and former administration officials involved in the planning and execution of the withdrawal.”
The missed deadline comes over a week after family members of eight of the 13 U.S. service members killed in an ISIS terrorist attack on Aug. 26, 2021, at the Abbey Gate outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, voiced their feelings on Aug. 29—just over two years since the bombing, which occurred just days before the United States and its allies departed Afghanistan following the 20-year war there.
During the committee-hosted roundtable discussion, which lasted almost three hours, there were calls for accountability, transparency, and even resignations directed at President Joe Biden and his administration.
During the discussion, Mr. McCaul read a statement he had just received from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.
“We owe them transparency, we owe them honesty, we owe them accountability. We owe them the truth about what happened to their loved ones,” he said in a statement.
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