Afghan papers: 'Let's Bring Rumsfeld In'
Khanna Calls for Hearings on US Officials
Who Lied to American People About Endless
Afghan War
By Andrea Germanos
"The bottom line is that top
military officials and civilian
officials have known that the
Afghan war has been has been
unwinnable and have been
misleading the American public
for 20 years." - Rep. Ro Khanna
December 11, 2019 "Information
Clearing House"
-
Rep. Ro Khanna on Wednesday said that
The Washington Post's
explosive investigation the "Afghanistan
Papers" showed the need for a
congressional hearing and that former
Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld should be
among the current and former top officials
called in for a reckoning before the
American public.
Khanna (D-Calif.) made
the comments at a House Armed Services
Committee
hearing. Hebegan addressing Secretary of
Defense Mark Esper by summing up the
Post's
report from Monday.
"The bottom line is that top military
officials and civilian officials have known
that the Afghan war has been has been
unwinnable and have been misleading the
American public for 20 years," Khanna said.
"Your predecessor Secretary Rumsfeld was
quoted there as saying, 'I have no
visibility into who the bad guys are.'"
"Are you embarrassed by Secretary
Rumsfeld comment and the other people
quoted, and do you believe they owe the
American public an explanation and an
apology?" Khanna asked Esper.
Esper said it was up to the committee on
whether or not to call a hearing. "But I do
know this much. The story spanned multiple
administrations, multiple uniformed and
civilian officials, and I think it's good to
look back."
|
Are You Tired Of
The Lies And
Non-Stop Propaganda?
|
Yet, Esper said, "I think at this point
where I'm looking is forward. And forward
tells me... the path to success, the win, is
a political agreement between the parties on
the ground."
"But don't you think we have to have some
accountability so we don't make the same
mistake again?" asked Khanna. "Would you
support this committee holding hearings on
the Afghan Papers and calling in front of
Congress every official who has misled the
American public about whether this war was
winnable in all or not? With 2,400 American
soldiers dead, 775,000 Americans deployed,
dont you think people owe this country an
explanation?"
Khanna then said to committee chairman
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), "I would request
that this committee hold hearing on the
Afghan Papers and call before Congress with
subpoena every person who has misled this
country."
"And just like in the Pentagon Papers,"
Khanna continued, "I think that should be
one of our highest priorities... examining
what has come out in that bombshell report."
Smith responded by saying he believes
"it's appropriate to have hearing," but said
that calling "every single witness... would
not be a productive of this committee's
time."
Khanna shared a portion of the exchange
on Twitter, adding, "Let's bring Rumsfeld
in."
The California Democrat's remarks at the
hearing echo comments he made earlier to
The Hill.
"Subpoena all of the people who were
mentioned and have them account and explain
to the American people in some cases why
they lied and in other cases why they were
utterly incompetent," Khanna told the outlet
Wednesday.
The Post investigation had
already motivated Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand,
the ranking Member of the Senate Armed
Services Personnel Subcommittee, to call for
a public hearing "to address these deeply
concerning revelations about the Afghan
war."
In a
letter sent Monday to Senate Armed
Services Committee chair Sen. James Inhofe
(R-Okla.) and ranking member Sen. Jack Reed
(D-R.I.), Gillibrand wrote, "it is deeply
troubling to read a report of interviews
with U.S. government officials that appear
to contradict the many assurances we have
heard at committee hearings that the
continuing war in Afghanistan has a coherent
strategy and an end in sight."
This article was originally published by
"
CommonDreams" -
-
Do you agree or
disagree? Post your comment here |
