House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) on Thursday called on President Trump’s special envoy to Afghanistan to testify this month on the proposed peace plan with the Taliban.
Engel asked Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation who has served as a top negotiator with the Taliban, to appear before his committee in September. It follows two previous requests earlier this year that Engel said didn’t receive responses.
Engel first asked Khalilzad to appear before the committee in February in a joint invitation with Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), the panel’s ranking Republican, as well as in a missive with all committee Democrats in April.
Engel signaled that his patience is running thin and suggested the next step could be a subpoena if Khalilzad doesn’t respond.
{mosads}”I am calling this hearing so that Congress and the American people will have the long-overdue opportunity to understand the contours of your negotiations with the Taliban and the potential risks and opportunities that may result,” Engel wrote in a letter to Khalilzad.
“After nearly two decades of war, we all want to see the fighting in Afghanistan come to an end. But we want to make sure we are negotiating a peace and not simply a withdrawal,” Engel added.
Engel’s demand for Khalilzad’s appearance comes after the special envoy said earlier this week that the U.S. and the Taliban have reached an agreement “in principle,” pending Trump’s approval in what is the ninth round of talks.
“Yes, we have reached an agreement in principle,” Khalilzad told Afghanistan’s TOLOnews. “Of course, it is not final until the US president [Donald Trump] agrees on it. So, at the moment, we are at that stage.”
Khalilzad said that under the draft agreement, the U.S. would withdraw 5,000 troops from five bases in Afghanistan within 135 days if the Taliban meets certain conditions.
“Given the challenges this Committee has faced in getting information from the Trump Administration on this issue, I want to be clear: I do not consider your testimony at this hearing optional. Your appearance before this Committee in an open setting is essential to our ability to carry out our oversight responsibilities. If this letter is insufficient to secure your attendance, I will consider other options that would ensure this hearing takes place in a timely manner,” Engel wrote.
Trump said last week that he will reduce the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to 8,600, but the U.S. will keep a presence after a deal is reached in the conflict that has been ongoing for the last 18 years.
“Oh yeah, you have to keep a presence,” Trump said in a Fox News radio interview. “We’re going to keep a presence there. We’re reducing that presence very substantially, and we’re going to always have a presence. We’re going to have high intelligence.”