Biden Administration reported that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike Monday. This was good news.
Some were asking very important questions about his activities in Kabul and in the home of Sirajuddin Haiqani, a top Taliban official. This raised the larger issue of whether the disastrous withdrawal by Joe Biden Afghanistan made it possible for al-Qaeda again to rise in Afghanistan.
Fox’s Peter Doocy grilled National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby about that issue. Doocy said they weren’t being consistent.
Peter Doocy calls John Kirby to account over President Biden’s statement that Al Qaeda had “gone” from Afghanistan.
KIRBY: “We talked about the fact that Al Qaeda had a presence in Afghanistan but small…” pic.twitter.com/lYDlpZl8X1
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 2, 2022
“You’re saying that you’ve always known that there’s a small number of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. President Biden said, ‘what interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point with al-Qaeda gone?’” Doocy asked.
Kirby claims the administration claimed last summer that Al Qaeda still existed in Afghanistan. Biden didn’t say this. Biden said Al Qaeda was “gone.” pic.twitter.com/hnHF9Wn3TW
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) August 2, 2022
Al-Qaeda wasn’t gone, contrary to what Biden said; they were being harbored by the Taliban, to whom Biden gave the country. Kirby attempted to spin the story for Biden and claimed that Kirby had never denied there was a tiny presence. But Biden said they were gone, and they wouldn’t be able to use the country as a safe harbor again. They are still being held there by Taliban.
Doocy then let loose on that point, “[T]he Taliban was harboring the world’s most wanted terrorist. Your country was given to people who are currently on the FBI most wanted lists. What did you think was going to happen?”
DOOCY: “You guys gave a whole country to a bunch of people who are on the FBI Most Wanted list. “What did you expect to happen?”
KIRBY: “I take issue with the premise we gave a whole country to a terrorist group…” pic.twitter.com/Tb6FW4FdL1
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 2, 2022
Kirby was not happy about that. He can take issue with it all he wants, but it’s true. They understood they were leaving Afghanistan to the Taliban terrorists. As Doocy said, “What did they think was going to happen?” It stood to reason that al-Qaeda would then feel free to come back.
Yes, Zawahiri was captured. But when you give a whole country over to the terrorists, with no one left on the ground anymore, you’re asking for trouble. Because there’s no one there anymore to prevent al-Qaeda from being harbored there–and it isn’t just Zawahiri.
As Townhall’s Katie Pavlich observed, Kirby himself said they were planning attacks from there.
Taliban control Afghanistan. Ayman alZawahiri was being held by the Taliban. Kirby stated to CNN this morning that Al Qaeda was actively planning attacks in Afghanistan. https://t.co/qAJhLzmgv2
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) August 2, 2022
How is it possible to give them any guarantee of future attacks? It isn’t.
Doocy asked, now that they know that the Taliban isn’t living up to their part of the deal to not let al-Qaeda back, what are they going to do about it?
Doocy: “So, now that you know the Taliban is not living up to the part of the deal that they made with the U.S. to not let Afghanistan be a place that terrorists feel like they can be safe, what are you going to do about it?”
Kirby says the U.S. “won’t telegraph decisions.” pic.twitter.com/2hmetvAvIL
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 2, 2022
Kirby could not give a more specific answer. He relied only on Zawahiri’s death. But the problem is they can’t guarantee anything, and they should have known they couldn’t trust the Taliban. With the entire country effectively being a safe harbour to plot, it is imperative that we are right each time. That’s the situation we are now left in–and that’s not a good position in which to be.
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