America’s Disastrous Afghanistan Withdrawal Last Year Was Entirely Biden’s Fault
President Biden turned a challenge into a crisis and a crisis into a catastrophe. And then he lied about it.President Biden turned a challenge into a crisis and a crisis into a catastrophe. And then he lied about it.Reporters grill top WH official for allowing Taliban to harbor al Qaeda — then Peter Doocy ratchets up the pressure
National Security Council coordinator John Kirby was peppered with questions Tuesday over how the Biden administration will respond to the Taliban violating the Doha Agreement.
What is the background?
The United States carried out a successful counterterrorism strike against the leader of al Qaeda over the weekend, killing Ayman al-Zawahiri.
American operators were successful partly because al-Zawahiri was "hiding" in plain sight in a wealthy Kabul neighborhood, thus underscoring the type of impunity the Taliban have extended to al Qaeda after the fall of Afghanistan last year.
The close relationship between the Taliban and al Qaeda violates the Doha Agreement, a peace treaty negotiated under former President Donald Trump between the U.S. and the Taliban. Specifically, the agreement bars the Taliban from allowing al Qaeda to operate in Afghanistan, a provision the Taliban have clearly violated.
What happened with Kirby?
With the Taliban in clear violation of the Doha Agreement — a reality Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged — reporters from multiple media outlets grilled Kirby over how exactly the Biden administration will respond.
"What will the repercussions be for the Taliban harboring al-Zawahiri?" ABC News chief White House correspondent Cecilia Vega asked.
"I’m not going to telegraph moves and decisions that we might make," Kirby responded. "I’m certainly not going to get ahead of anything at this point."
Kirby, however, disclosed that U.S. leaders have spoken with Taliban leaders for harboring al-Zawahiri, which he admitted is a clear violation of the Doha Agreement.
But when NBC News chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander pressed Kirby on whether the Biden administration would hold accountable the Taliban, Kirby obfuscated, saying only that he will not "telegraph punches" and the Taliban know the U.S. is aware they violated the Doha Agreement.
Kirby even suggested the Taliban might shape up because they want legitimization from Western powers.
08/02/22: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby www.youtube.com
Then Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy ratcheted up the pressure.
"You guys gave a whole country to a bunch of people that are on the FBI Most Wanted list. What did you think was going to happen?" Doocy pressed.
Kirby responded by saying he takes "issue with the premise that we gave a whole country to terrorist groups."
"The Taliban was harboring the world’s number-one terrorist. How is that not giving a country to a terrorist-sympathizing group, if not giving them permission to have terrorists just sit on a balcony?" Doocy pressed.
Engaging in circular reasoning, Kirby then told Doocy the strike against al-Zawahiri is proof the U.S. is not idly permitting the Taliban to harbor al Qaeda terrorists. And in the end, Kirby praised Biden.
"I would go so far as to say not only the American people are safer as a result of President Biden’s decision, but the rest of the world is safer," Kirby said.
Other reporters asked Kirby similar questions about the Taliban and their violations of the Doha Agreement, but he never offered substantive answers.
Kirby said violations of the agreement will "lead to consequences not just from the United States, but from the international community" — but he never said what any of those consequences would be.
Terrorism experts uncover glaring problem with successful strike against Ayman al-Zawahiri: 'Masks the undeniable truth'
The United States carried out a successful counterterrorism operation to kill top Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri over the weekend.
But terrorism experts quickly pointed out the glaring problem with the operation: al-Zawahiri was targeted while standing on the balcony of a house in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, the country in which Americans died for 20 years before President Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal one year ago.
What did experts say?
The successful operation was only possible because of the close relationship between the Taliban and Al Qaeda, which itself was only possible because of the collapse of the Afghanistan government last year.
According to expert terrorism analyst Bill Roggio, the narrative that al-Zawahiri's death was a counterterrorism success "masks the undeniable truth that Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is a safe haven for Al Qaeda."
That is because, as Roggio explained, al-Zawahiri was "hiding" in plain-sight, i.e., he was not hiding at all.
"Zawahiri was killed in the Sherpur neighborhood, in a home run by a deputy of Sirajuddin Haqqani. Sirajuddin is of course one of two deputy Taliban emirs as well as the interior minister," Roggio explained. "Zawahiri could not operate in Afghanistan — particularly in Kabul — without the consent of the Taliban. He wasn't in the remote mountains of Kunar, Nuristan, or Nangarhar, or distant provinces of Ghazni, Helmand, or Kandahar. He was in the Taliban's capital."
\u201c4) Zawahiri could not operate in Afghanistan - particularly in Kabul - without the consent of the Taliban. He wasn't in the remote mountains of Kunar, Nuristan, or Nangarhar, or distant provinces of Ghazni, Helmand, or Kandahar. He was in the Taliban's capital.\u201d— Bill Roggio (@Bill Roggio) 1659400960
The tight-knit relationship between the Taliban and Al Qaeda is no secret.
In fact, a United Nations report from last month disclosed, "Al-Qaida leadership reportedly plays an advisory role with the Taliban, and the groups remain close." The report also admitted, "Al-Qaida enjoys greater freedom in Afghanistan under Taliban rule."
Meanwhile, terrorism analyst Ritz Katz echoed Roggio's reaction.
"That Zawahiri, after years of hiding and immense [operations security], was killed on a balcony in a wealthy downtown neighborhood of Kabul--it just shows what a drastic sense of empowerment al-Qaeda leadership has felt under Taliban-ruled Afghanistan," Ratz wrote on Twitter.
\u201cThat Zawahiri, after years of hiding and immense OPSEC, was killed on a balcony in a wealthy downtown neighborhood of Kabul--it just shows what a drastic sense of empowerment al-Qaeda leadership has felt under Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.\u201d— Rita Katz (@Rita Katz) 1659390861
What did the US government say?
Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement blasting the Taliban for violating the Doha Agreement, which stipulated that Al Qaeda could not find a safe harbor in Afghanistan under Taliban control.
But Blinken did not say the Taliban would face any consequences for violating the controversial peace agreement.
"In the face of the Taliban’s unwillingness or inability to abide by their commitments, we will continue to support the Afghan people with robust humanitarian assistance and to advocate for the protection of their human rights, especially of women and girls," Blinken said.
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