INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee subpoenaed Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, saying he had refused to
appear before the panel to testify on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.In a letter about the subpoena, Chairman Michael
McCaul said Blinken must appear before the committee on Sept
19 or face contempt charges, the committee said.State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken was not currently available to
testify on the dates proposed by the committee but has proposed &reasonable alternatives& to comply with McCaul&s request for a public
hearing.&It is disappointing that instead of continuing to engage with the Department in good faith, the Committee instead has issued yet
another unnecessary subpoena,& Miller said in a statement.He said Blinken had testified before Congress on Afghanistan more than 14 times,
including four times before McCaul&s committee
He also said State has provided the committee with nearly 20,000 pages of department records, multiple high-level briefings and transcribed
interviews.McCaul asked Blinken in May to appear at a hearing in September on the committee&s report on its investigation of the withdrawal
from Afghanistan.In his letter to Blinken, the Republican committee chairman said current and former State Department officials confirmed
that Blinken was &the final decision maker& on the withdrawal and evacuation.&You are therefore in a position to inform the Committee&s
consideration of potential legislation aimed at helping prevent the catastrophic mistakes of the withdrawal, including potential reforms to
the Department&s legislative authorization,& McCaul wrote.The subpoena from McCaul&s committee, which has been investigating the deadly and
chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan for years, comes as events surrounding the pullback become an increasingly politicized issue ahead of
5 elections.The post US congressional committee subpoenas Blinken over Afghanistan first appeared on Ariana News.
