MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2023) US Congressman Michael McCaul has launched an investigation into the pullout of troops from Afghanistan, demanding that the US authorities provide documents and analyze the consequences of the withdrawal.
"It is imperative that the State Department provide complete responses to these longstanding requests, and the Committee will not tolerate continued delay. In the event of noncompliance, the Committee will use the authorities available to it to enforce these requests as necessary, including through compulsory process," McCaul said in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as quoted by CNN.
McCaul requested the list of interdepartmental meetings during Joe Biden's presidency which were related to the troops withdrawal as well as the data on talks with the Taliban movement (under UN sanctions for terrorism) starting from January 2021, the broadcaster reported.
The committee added that it was interested in studying the pullout's consequences, according to the report.
Last week, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Biden's decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan made it easier to provide assistance to Ukraine. Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, in turn, said that the sudden pullout of US troops from Afghanistan was related to the need to prepare Ukraine for an offensive against Russia.
The Taliban came to power in August 2021, toppling the US-backed government as foreign troops were leaving the country, with the political crisis exacerbating the economic disarray and food shortages that have pushed the country to the brink of a humanitarian crisis.
