Blinken Allows Access to Dissent Cable Warning of Afghanistan Collapse

The State Department offered Rep. Michael McCaul and Rep. Gregory Meeks the chance to view a classified cable sent before the withdrawal from Afghanistan that warned of the government's collapse.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken backed down from refusing to share the cable, which 23 staffers and diplomats signed in 2021, after the House Foreign Affairs Committee threatened to hold him in contempt.
The cable reportedly warned the Biden administration that the Taliban would swiftly take over Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrew troops.
The administration downplayed those concerns at the time but the withdrawal led to chaos, 13 U.S. service members dying, and hundreds of Americans stranded.
Blinken allowed the partial redaction and private viewing in a concession to oversight demands from Congress.