The Washington blame game over the Biden administration’s chaotic scramble to fly US citizens and visa holders from Afghanistan as the country fell to the Taliban intensified on Wednesday with the Pentagon laying the responsibility squarely at the State Department's feet.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said his State Department colleagues across the Potomac River were responsible for slowing down the removal of American citizens and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants.
“The call on how to do that and when to do it is really a State Department call,” Mr Austin told Congress in a second day of lengthy testimony as lawmakers grilled him and two top officers on how America's longest war ended so suddenly and so ignobly last month.
“Their concern, rightfully, that number one, they were being cautioned by the [former Kabul] administration that if they withdrew American citizens and SIV applicants at a pace that was too fast, it would cause a collapse of government that they were trying to prevent.”
But, Mr Austin said, the Pentagon had provided its input “and we certainly would have liked to see it go faster or sooner".
When the withdrawal was planned in April, the Pentagon had prioritised and accelerated the withdrawal of US troops over diplomats and Afghan allies due to security concerns, according to Politico.
The plan was to keep the embassy in Kabul open with the understanding that the US-trained Afghan forces would keep it secure. Instead, the Taliban seized all of Kabul over two days in mid-August after then-president Ashraf Ghani fled the capital.
And while the Pentagon did draft an evacuation plan for Afghans who assisted the US military and their families, the White House did not authorise it until July — a month before the Taliban swept across the country as the US withdrew.
James Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said this month that “one of the biggest problems to help processing” visas for Afghans who helped the US military included the Defence Department’s failure to provide the necessary documents needed to process their visas to the State Department.
“The fact that [the Pentagon] didn’t keep curated records is irresponsible and a slap in the face to those who fought alongside us,” Mr Risch said at the time.
“Obviously, I want to talk to Secretary Austin about this.”
While Mr Austin has testified before the both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, he refused to appear alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the Foreign Relations Committee this month.
This prompted Democrat Bob Menendez, the Foreign Relations Committee chairman, to threaten to subpoena Mr Austin over his refusal to appear — a drastic measure for a member of Congress to take against an official from an administration controlled by his own party.
“While communication from the administration has been frequent throughout this crisis, information from [the State Department], the Pentagon and the White House has often been vague or contradictory,” Mr Menendez said at the time.
While testifying before the Senate on Tuesday, Mr Austin and other Pentagon officials were unable to provide an estimate of how many US citizens remain trapped in Afghanistan.
They deferred the question to the State Department despite repeated admonishments from Democrat Tim Kaine not to do so before their public testimony this week.
After a closed Senate hearing with Pentagon officials last week, Mr Kaine told reporters that he had warned them against continuing to punt basic questions about Afghanistan evacuees to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
“They can’t answer questions for us — things that our American people should know, things that we should know as Congress,” Republican Joni Ernst told The National after last week’s closed hearing.
“How many families do we have evacuated? How many women, children do we have evacuated? Who’s been evacuated? They can’t answer any of that.”
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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Royal Birkdale Golf Course
Location: Southport, Merseyside, England
Established: 1889
Type: Private
Total holes: 18
Racecard
6.35pm: American Business Council – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm: British Business Group – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: CCI France UAE – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
8.20pm: Czech Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,400m
8.55pm: Netherlands Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Indian Business and Professional Council – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
Chinese Grand Prix schedule (in UAE time)
Friday: First practice - 6am; Second practice - 10am
Saturday: Final practice - 7am; Qualifying - 10am
Sunday: Chinese Grand Prix - 10.10am
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
The Abu Dhabi Awards explained:
What are the awards? They honour anyone who has made a contribution to life in Abu Dhabi.
Are they open to only Emiratis? The awards are open to anyone, regardless of age or nationality, living anywhere in the world.
When do nominations close? The process concludes on December 31.
How do I nominate someone? Through the website.
When is the ceremony? The awards event will take place early next year.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.