House lawmakers to receive classified briefing on Afghanistan

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a classified briefing on the Biden administration’s handling of the pullout of Afghanistan, according to a notice obtained by The Hill.

The briefing will take place on June 15. It will also cover policy toward Afghanistan, and top State Department officials are expected to appear before the panel.

A source familiar with the briefing said that the State Department was open to holding a portion of the briefing in open session so that some of the information could be public, but that the panel’s Democratic majority insisted the briefing take place behind closed doors.

The panel is led by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).

A committee spokesperson responded to a request for comment by The Hill saying,  “The Chairman is hosting a classified briefing next week to enable a detailed exchange of information with the Department on matters important to the Committee’s oversight of Afghanistan policy—many of which we understand require delving into classified information to fully address.” 

The spokesperson added that the committee “plans to continue pursuing open and closed sessions on this topic as part of the Committee’s work to develop a fuller understanding of U.S. policy on Afghanistan, including the decisions that led to the U.S. withdrawal, and capture important lessons learned from this 20-year conflict.”

McCaul, in a statement to The Hill, called it “disappointing” that the committee has had “only one full committee, open hearing dedicated to Afghanistan” since August 2021.

“The American people deserve a transparent and robust investigation.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified in front of the House panel about Afghanistan in September. Blinken and other Cabinet officials have answered questions on Afghanistan in multiple hearings with House and Senate committees.

The classified briefing is billed as discussing “the evolution of U.S. policy towards Afghanistan from 2017 through August 2021.” 

The U.S. pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021 left an indelible stain on the Biden administration for its failure to anticipate how the Afghan government and its military forces would fail to mount any defense against the Taliban, which took over the country and capital city of Kabul within a few days.

The briefers will comprise five senior officials from the State Department who were part of the U.S. operation to pull out from the country and are responsible for U.S. policy toward Afghanistan. 

The list includes John Bass, under secretary for management, who was dispatched to Afghanistan to run the evacuation on the ground; Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian McKeon and State Department Counselor Derek Chollet.

Also briefing are Molly Phee, who served as deputy special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation; and Thomas West, the special representative and deputy assistant secretary of State for Afghanistan.

The chaotic American exit from Afghanistan, colored by an air evacuation from the U.S. Embassy and images of people falling to their deaths from planes departing the airport near Kabul, shocked the world.

The administration received harsh rebuke over the failure to evacuate tens of thousands of Afghan allies and hundreds of American citizens when U.S. forces left for good on August 31. A terrorist bombing near the gates of the Kabul airport on August 26 killed 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghans, and wounded countless others. 

In the aftermath, Republicans called for the resignation of senior Biden officials, including the secretary of Defense, secretary of State and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

More than 10 months since the Taliban’s takeover, Afghanistan has plunged into a humanitarian and economic catastrophe. The Taliban has also revoked key civil rights for women and minorities that had been hard-won over the 20-year period of American and international involvement in the country. 

Republicans have attacked Biden and Democrats for failing to take accountability for the catastrophic pullout. The president has also failed to rebound in approval ratings that plunged with his administration’s handling of Afghanistan and have been compounded by a slew of other crises in the months since August.

Updated at 8:03 p.m.