Washington, DC – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued the following statement after viewing the Afghanistan withdrawal dissent cable at the State Department together with Chairman Michael McCaul: 

“Having now seen the dissent cable, I can confidently say the in-depth classified Member briefing and summary of the cable faithfully represented the cable’s contents. It reaffirmed that the Department received the dissenters’ concerns and responded to the policy issues the cable raised. The Secretary’s extraordinary accommodation allowing for our in-camera review, in addition to the thousands of pages the Department provided to Mr. McCaul in response to his Afghanistan withdrawal requests, should satisfy the Chairman’s subpoena and finally put to rest his threats of contempt. 

“The dissent channel is an invaluable mechanism for State Department personnel to candidly express constructive criticisms of U.S. policy, but I’ve come to learn that Congressional Republicans’ decision to politicize the channel has already had a chilling effect on some employees, who have become hesitant to use the channel. Let me say directly to the men and women of the Department: your dissent is critical to ensuring America’s interests are protected, and I am committed to protecting your ability to do your vital work. I commend Secretary Blinken for his good-faith effort to reach a reasonable accommodation that protects the cable authors’ privacy, and I urge my Republican colleagues to do no further damage to the channel’s integrity so our diplomats can freely voice their concerns.”  

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