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House Republicans have filed articles of impeachment for State Department Secretary Antony Blinken Friday in the aftermath of 13 U.S. service member deaths in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) introduced the articles in which they cited Blinken’s “failures in leadership over [the] Afghanistan situation,” Fox News first reported.
From colleague Kelly Phares: Rep Norman (R-SC) and Rep Andy Harris (R-MD) introduce articles of impeachment for Secretary of State Antony Blinken citing failures in leadership over Afghanistan situation
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) August 27, 2021
The filed articles of impeachment follow five House Republicans demanding someone from Biden’s administration to immediately resign or be fired. That includes Reps. Mary Miller (IL), Mike Johnson (LA), Don Bacon (NE), Chris Stewart (UT), and Jackie Walorski (ID).
The demand for Blinken to be held accountable comes in the wake of U.S. officials handing over a list of names of Americans, green card holders, and Afghan allies to the Taliban terrorists, Politico reported Thursday.
A Taliban fighter stands guard at the site of the August 26 twin suicide bombs, which killed scores of people including 13 US troops, at Kabul airport on August 27, 2021. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)
The list of names, dubbed a “kill list,” was presumably given to the Taliban to allow evacuees through the enemy lines of the Taliban:
The move, detailed to POLITICO by three U.S. and congressional officials, was designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan as chaos erupted in Afghanistan’s capital city last week after the Taliban seized control of the country. It also came as the Biden administration has been relying on the Taliban for security outside the airport.
Since the fall of Kabul in mid-August, nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated, most of whom had to pass through the Taliban’s many checkpoints. But the decision to provide specific names to the Taliban, which has a history of brutally murdering Afghans who collaborated with the U.S. and other coalition forces during the conflict, has angered lawmakers and military officials.
U.S. officials also stated Thursday they were relying on the Taliban to provide outer security at the Kabul airport.
A dead body of an Afghan lies on the ground at a hospital after deadly attacks outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 27, 2021. Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport Thursday, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)
“We expect the attacks to continue. We are doing everything we can,” Gen. Kenneth McKenzie explained in a Pentagon press briefing, “That includes reaching out to the Taliban who are actually providing the outer security of the airfield to make sure they’re protecting us, and we will coordinate with them as they go forward.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø
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