US helping 44 Americans who want to leave Afghanistan: Blinken

WASHINGTON

The US is working to assist 44 Americans who want to leave Afghanistan as well as several others detained by the Taliban, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.

“There are several Americans who are being detained by the Taliban. We are working to secure their freedom,” Blinken told a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.

“The families have asked that we protect their identities and don't speak publicly to their cases,” he added.

“Those who have been detained -- how many other Americans are there?" said Republican Representative Joe Wilson.

“As we speak, American citizens who identified themselves to us who are in Afghanistan — some of whom have been there since the withdrawal, some of whom went back to Afghanistan — there are about, that we're in contact with, about 175. Forty-four of them are ready to leave, and we are working to effectuate their departure," Blinken responded.

Republican lawmakers have been accusing President Joe Biden of the “failed” withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the chaos at Kabul airport in August 2021.

Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee requested documents related to the controversial withdrawal from Afghanistan from the State Department as part of an investigation.

During the hearing Thursday at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Republican chairman Michael McCaul gave Blinken until the end of Monday to release an internal dissent cable written by at least 23 diplomats serving at the US Embassy in Kabul in July 2021.

"I have the subpoena. it's right here. And I'm prepared to serve this," McCaul told Blinken.

The classified cable reportedly warned of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

Blinken said in response to the committee's request that the “tradition of having a dissent channel is one that is cherished in the department, and goes back decades.”

“It's a unique way for anyone in the department to speak truth to power as they see it,” he said.

“These cables may only be shared with senior officials in the department, and again that's to protect the integrity of the process to make sure we don't have a chilling effect on those who might want to come forward,” he continued.

He said the State Department is “prepared to make the relevant information in that cable available, including through a briefing or some other mechanism.”