Now that we’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal which left thirteen American service members dead and hundreds of Americans trapped at the hands of the Taliban after their inevitable takeover, ABC’s World News TonightThe story was forgotten for many months, so I decided to revisit it.
Other than a brief dismissive mention during coverage of the killing of Al Zawahiri, ABC’s World News Tonight hasn’t covered the ongoing humanitarian disaster due to Biden’s troop withdrawal since December of 2021. Yet recently, ABC’s flagship morning show Good Morning AmericaThe debacle was recently discovered again. So World News TonightEven for their network, is ahead of the curve.
Yet on Thursday evening’s installment of World News Tonight, anchor David Muir turned his focus to the wartorn country in the aftermath of the United States’s withdrawal. Turning to chief foreign correspondent Ian Pannell, Muir observed how “the Taliban [is] now fully in control.”
For his report from the ground in Afghanistan, Pannell painted a grim picture of the situation in the country: “on one level the city looks similar to this time last year, but if you look again, today the troops driving around in those pickups, some of them carrying American-made weapons are the Taliban.”
Pannell added that “it’s clear in a little over a week since Al-Qaeda’s leader was taken out here in a U.S. drone strike that the terrorists have a safe haven again, although the Taliban is insisting that Afghanistan won’t be used to plot attacks on America.”
He ended by noting how “Afghanistan has become this country of broken promises and lost dreams. High school graduation rates for girls are not possible. Females forced to hide behind veil. And over 90 percent of the population lacking reliable access to food.”
To underscore how devastating the conditions in Afghanistan have become since American troops left, Pannell reported that “some aid agencies are warning that the humanitarian crisis here could now kill far more Afghans than the past 20 years of war.”
It should be noted that while ABC reported on the disaster in Afghanistan, Biden’s name wasn’t mentioned once. ABC does a good job of discrediting Biden even though they are covering the tragedy that Biden has caused. Biden is a symbol of his failures in foreign policy.
ABC World News Tonight’s sudden rediscovery of Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal debacle was made possible by Simplisafe. These links link to their information.
To read the transcript, click “expand”:
ABC’s World News Tonight
8/11/2022
Eastern at 6:47:44DAVIDMUIR: Now we turn to Afghanistan. As we mark the one-year anniversary of the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban are now completely under control. Our chief foreign correspondent Ian Pannell is now back on the ground. He will also be reporting on the things he’s seen.
IAN PANEELL: David. On one level, the city is very similar to last year. But if you take a closer look, the Taliban are driving around today in pickup trucks with some American-made weapons. In just over one week, Al-Qaeda’s leader has been killed in this U.S. airstrike. It is now clear that terrorists are back in safe territory. However, the Taliban claims that Afghanistan won’t be used as a base for attacks on America.
Afghanistan is a country full of empty promises and broken dreams. Female high school students are often unable to complete their education. Females forced to live behind a veil. More than 90 percent of people don’t have reliable access to food. Many aid agencies have warned that there could be more Afghans dying in this humanitarian crisis than during the previous 20 years of conflict. David?
MUIR – Ian Pannell (now our chief foreign reporter), is leading coverage of Afghanistan in Afghanistan a year later. Thank you, Ian.