The Foreign Service Journal, November 2021

14 NOVEMBER 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL T hree former presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama—and their first ladies are honorary co-chairs of Welcome.US, a new effort to wel- come thousands of Afghan refugees to the United States. Welcome.US offers its visitors the chance to donate to frontline organi- zations assisting Afghan refugees and host or sponsor arriving families. “We know that doing the work of making our new neighbors welcome is the starting point for the many ways in which their presence will enrich us all,” Cecilia Muñoz, co-chair of the initiative, said during a Sept. 15 news conference announcing the website. “This is what we do when we’re at our best, and we’re proud to have devel- oped an approach to help Americans do this work together.” The former presidents and first ladies said they want “to lift up everyone else involved and remind us that this is our opportunity, in a time of all too much division, for common purpose.” Site of the Month: Welcome.US The appearance of a particular site or podcast is for information only and does not constitute an endorsement. to ensure that returning Haitian migrants are met at the airport and provided with immediate assistance.” After the resignation letter became public, the Biden administration pushed back hard with criticism of Foote, includ- ing some that was personal. State Depart- ment Spokesman Ned Price said in a state- ment that the idea that Foote’s proposals were ignored “is simply false.” Price added: “No ideas are ignored, but not all ideas are good ideas.” Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman also criticized Foote, as did White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who said that Foote had “never once” raised migration concerns. In an Oct. 2 internal legal memo, senior State Department legal adviser and veteran human rights lawyer Harold Koh criticized the use of Title 42, a CDC public health authority, as the basis for the expulsions, calling them “illegal and inhumane” and “not worthy of this administration I so strongly support.” Blinken Defends Afghanistan Exit to Congress S ecretary of State Antony Blinken faced tough questioning from House and Senate committees on Sept. 13 and 14 over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. But he insisted it was “time to end America’s longest war” and described the evacuation from Kabul as “extraordinary.” During his testimony, Blinken said the United States would engage with the new Taliban-led Afghan govern- ment “on the basis of whether or not it advances our interests.” He acknowl- edged that a cast of tough characters leads the Taliban government, including interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network who is wanted by the FBI in connection with a 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul that killed six people. Blinken said there were areas in which the United States must cooperate with the Taliban, such as getting people out of the country. But formal recogni- tion is a long way off, and it depends on what the Taliban’s leaders do, he said. “We expect the Taliban to ensure freedom of travel; to make good on its counterterrorism commitments; to uphold the basic rights of the Afghan people, including women, girls, minori- ties; to name a broadly representative permanent government; to forswear reprisals,” Blinken said. “The legiti- macy and support that it seeks from the international community will depend entirely on its conduct.” Secretary Blinken said the United States would provide an additional $64 million in new humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan via independent orga- nizations. He said he plans to appoint a senior State Department official to promote women’s and girls’ interests in Afghanistan. Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee called on Blinken to resign during a Sept. 13 hearing. On Sept. 14, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he planned to use procedural tactics to try to hold up President Joe Biden’s foreign policy nominees from being confirmed unless Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan resign. The Washington Post called Hawley’s threat “mostly symbolic.” Kabul Evacuation O n Sept. 6 the State Department released a fact sheet, “The United States Conducts Unprecedented Reloca- tion Effort” (bit.ly/State-fact-sheet) , detailing the U.S. mobilization to evacu- ate American citizens, personnel from partner nations and at-risk Afghans from Kabul.