ABC Thumbs Nose at Afghanistan Withdrawal Critics After al-Zawahiri Killed

In the immediate aftermath of the Biden administration’s announcement that the CIA had killed Al Qaeda leader and 9/11 plotter Ayman al-Zawahiri, ABC’s Cecilia Vega leaped into action to note how President Biden was right that the United States could still fight terrorism in Afghanistan without having a presence on the ground there. 

Shortly after the Biden administration’s announcement that the United States killed Zawahiri, Vega couldn’t wait to scream he told you so. 

In her report World News Tonight from the north lawn of the White House, Vega bragged how “This time last year, President Biden was pulling troops out of Afghanistan. At the time, the White House faced push-back frankly for saying that it would continue to be able to hunt down and track terrorists down in Afghanistan after American troops were gone.” Adding that “they have shown tonight that is still a possibility.” 

A little over an hour later, during ABC’s special report following Biden’s speech officially announcing the killing of al-Zawahiri, Vega doubled down:

Sincere, Martha is saying that there appears to be some of the “we told” from the President and senior Administration officials. They were heavily criticized for their botched withdrawal, which we covered extensively about a year back. This was actually a remarkable timing. This was around a year ago, when President Biden started pulling troops out Afghanistan. There was a lot of public criticism at that time from people all over the country.

Meanwhile, during NBC’s special report, chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel tried to slickly blame former President Trump for Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan 

“The U.S. left less than one year ago, and they left with this promise that the Taliban would never allow Al Qaeda to come back in the country, that they would never allow a future Osama bin Laden to launch attacks from there. That was the deal struck first by President Trump and carried out by President Biden,” Engel proclaimed. 

This contrasts with the way NBC treated Trump after he killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an ISIS leader. On October 27, 2019, NBC decried how Trump was “going to take a victory lap” after killing al-Baghdadi. 

This wasn’t the only instance, of NBC siding with our nation’s enemies over an American President they disagree with politically.

On January 3, 2020 NBC Nightly NewsIt became essentially an infomercial to the Iranian regime following the killing of Qasem Solimani, terrorist Qasem. 

At that time, Engel wailed how “Qasem Soleimani was no ordinary general. The U.S. classified him as a terrorist but in Iran, he was a national hero.” 

The leftist networks would rather side with our nation’s enemies, rather than a Republican President. It’s only when the President is a Democrat do they not root for evil. 

This anti-American programming on ABC’s World News Tonight was made possible by You can be sure. NBC & ABC’s special reports did not run ads but you can check out a list of their other sponsors by Please click here. 

To read the relevant transcripts click “expand”:

ABC’s World News Tonight
August 1, 2022
Eastern at 6:35 p.m. 

CECILIA VEGA – But Linsey’s timing tonight is something worth noting. In the midst of last year’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden announced that he was doing so. At that time, there was a lot of criticism from the White House for its claim that it could continue to track and hunt terrorists in Afghanistan once American troops left. Linsey and the team have demonstrated tonight that it is possible. 

ABC News Special Report
August 1, 2022
Eastern, 7:42:59 

LINSEY DAVIS – His administration took many hits in the past month. How does that translate? This makes it seem like he is taking a little victory lap today. 

CECILIA VEGA : Yes. Linsey is absolutely right. There seems to be some of the we said so from the President, as well as senior officials in this administration. They were heavily criticized for their botched withdrawal, which we covered extensively about a year back. This was actually a noteworthy timing. 

The White House had begun to withdraw troops from Afghanistan about one year ago. At the time, there was a lot of criticism. Many people in this area and elsewhere said they would not be able continue getting intelligence without American troops. Senior administration officials are saying this now, proving that you don’t require American troops in Afghanistan to obtain the Intel you see coming out of the White House. 

NBC News Special Report
August 1, 2022
Eastern, 7:40:52 

RICHARD ENGEL – There are many layers to the story. This story reveals the Taliban’s arrogance as well as their overconfidence. They left the United States less than a year ago. The Taliban promised that Al Qaeda would not return to the country and that Osama Bin Laden would never launch an attack from Afghanistan. It was the agreement struck by Trump first and executed by Biden. They clearly violated the deal not just with Ayman Al Zawiri, leader of Al Qaeda.

The presidential palace is not far away from Kabul. But he was also there apparently for many months. U.S. intelligence, U.S. troops, and Troops were to begin briefing him about whereabouts in April. This was long enough time to make a mockup of his safe house, so the President could be briefed. 

A week ago, the President granted the final green light to military personnel, telling them that they should strike if given the chance. That strike occurred on Sunday, while President Obama was sleeping on a balcony. It was to end the potential for collateral damage. On one hand, this shows that the United States took decisive action, and the Taliban showed arrogance. But, on the other, Al Qaeda has shown confidence in its willingness to go to Afghanistan, even if it meant being there for several months. The report paints a disturbing picture of Afghanistan’s security situation right now.

It is not well known that the United States and Taliban cooperate in the fight against ISIS. This rival group is something many people are unaware of. However, that cooperation clearly hasn’t extended to Al Qaeda. The U.S. is now sending a signal to Al Qaeda and the Taliban that they do not wish to establish a base there.