USA: White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby was confronted Tuesday by Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy over the revelation that Al Qaeda has resestablished itself in Afghanistan following the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from the country, handing it back to Taliban extremists.
Doocy first raised the issue of the administration claiming they knew Al Qaeda has a presence in Afghanistan despite Joe Biden’s claim last year that the terrorist organisation was “gone” from the country.
Kirby responded, “They weren’t playing a major role in operations or resourcing or planning in Afghanistan. But Peter, I know specifically because I was at a different podium a year ago and we talked about the fact that al-Qaida had a presence in Afghanistan, but small and not incredibly powerful or potent. And, I think, again without getting into numbers, we would still assess that to be the case.”
Doocy fired back, “So, we know that the Taliban was harboring the world’s most wanted terrorist. 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?”
Kirby responded, “I take issue with the premise that we gave a whole country to terrorist groups.”
“They were 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 replied, referring to the revelation that Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was reportedly killed by drone strike while relaxing in Kabul.
“Are we waiting for some spectacular terrorist attack in the U.S. to then say ‘oh, well there’s terrorists in a safe haven in Afghanistan, now we can go get them,’” Doocy further pressed.
Watch:
BIDEN SPOKESMAN, TODAY: “When we left Afghanistan, we knew that there was a small presence of Al Qaeda already in the country.”
BIDEN, AUGUST 2021: Al Qaeda is “gone” from Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/BRWuQ3DDcF
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 2, 2022
In an interview the same day, Kirby admitted that Al Qaeda is now using Afghanistan as a “safe haven” again:
Biden Spokesman John Kirby confirms Al Qaeda is “actively” using Afghanistan as a “safe haven” to “plot and plan attacks against American interests and the American homeland.” pic.twitter.com/cwdIEU80Sy
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 2, 2022
Fox News: “Biden said we could pull out of Afghanistan because Al-Qaeda is gone — clearly not the case” pic.twitter.com/8QCgBkpDhU
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 2, 2022
by Steve Watson
Join: 👉 https://t.me/acnewspatriots
The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of AC.NEWS
Disclaimer: This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author. The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). AC.News will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article www.ac.news websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner. Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Discussion about this post