The United States Department of State has an avenue of communication for all their “U.S. citizen employees, foreign and domestic, [to] be able to express dissenting or alternative views on substantive issues of policy, in a manner which ensures serious, high-level review and response.”  These communications are known as “The Dissent Channel Program” and those submitting dissent are able to do so “without fear of pressure or penalty”. In fact, the State Department spokesman Vedant Patel has stated it is “a unique way for anyone in the department to speak truth to power as they see it without fear or favor. They do it by the regulations we have established for these cables in a privileged and confidential way. It’s vital to us that we preserve the integrity of that process and of that channel.”

 In July 2021 a group of 23 U.S. State Department employees stationed in Afghanistan sent a cable to the Department of State in Washington warning the administration to “take action to save American citizens and Afghan partners to get them out of there and that it (the Taliban takeover) was going to happen more imminently and not long term.”

 A month later the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan during which 13 service members lost their lives took place. In addition, approximately 170 Afghans lost their lives during the suicide bomber attack. The numbers of Americans and Afghan partners left behind are unknown and only thru the efforts of civilian organizations like Save Our Allies have many of those left behind have been able to escape the wrath of the Taliban.

Only after the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Representative Michael McCaul threatened to enforce a subpoena against Secretary of State Anthony Blinken were Representatives McCaul, the panel’s Republican chair, and Gregory Meeks, its top Democrat, allowed to view the cable at the State Department. After viewing the cable McCaul stated “everything they predicted came true in the disastrous withdrawal.”

 McCaul wants all members of his committee, including Afghanistan veterans Brian Mast and Jason Crow, to be able to view the redacted document. 

During McCaul’s recent interview with Greta Van Susteren, she commented that it was “insane not to take seriously the people sending the cable are on the ground, have a much better sense of the situation than people sitting in cubicles in Washington”. Sadly, a missed opportunity especially for the 13 Gold Star Families.