Biden told another Kabul attack is 'likely', White House says: LIVE UPDATES
Flights out of Afghanistan are continuing after the terrorist attack outside the Abbey Gate at Kabul's airport Thursday killed at least 13 U.S. service members and at least 169 Afghans, according to officials.
Coverage for this event has ended.
From Fox News Channel's Lucas Tomlinson:
The U.S. drone hit a vehicle carrying the ISIS-K leader who was believed to be "carrying out future attacks," a U.S. official briefed on the strike tells Fox News.
It's not clear if the planner was involved in the suicide attack at Kabul airport Thursday, which killed 13 U.S. service members and wounded 20 others.
The ISIS-K planner was also traveling with an "associate," Fox News understands.
The drone strike took place a few hours ago near the border with Pakistan, the official said.
"U.S. military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner. The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties," U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Bill Urban said.
The latest security alert followed Thursday's deadly suicide bombing attacks. The Biden administration warned earlier Friday another attack at the airport is considered "likely."
"Because of security threats at the Kabul airport, we continue to advise U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates," the alert said. "U.S. citizens who are at the Abbey gate, East gate, North gate or the New Ministry of Interior gate now should leave immediately."
As NGOs and U.S. forces continue to race to get Americans and Afghan allies to safety ahead of the Biden administration’s Aug. 31 deadline in Afghanistan, one faith-based nonprofit helped evacuate an at-risk family of eight Christians from the chaos in Kabul.
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State Department spokesperson Ned Price seemingly contradicted President Biden’s acknowledgment that the United States may have provided the Taliban with a list of names of Americans and allies in order to usher them to the airport.
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Scheller was relieved after he posted a viral video in which he demanded that senior U.S. leaders be held accountable for their handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller was relieved of command by Col. David Emmel, Commanding Officer of School of Infantry-East, due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command. This is obviously an emotional time for a lot of Marines, and we encourage anyone struggling right now to seek counseling or talk to a fellow Marine," a Marine Corps spokesman said in a statement obtained by Fox News' Jennifer Griffin.
"There is a forum in which Marine leaders can address their disagreements with the chain of command, but it’s not social media," the statement added.
The State Department responded to calls for impeachment Friday by reaffirming Secretary Blinken's commitment to evacuating Americans from Afghanistan.
"Blinken is focused on one thing and one thing only: the evacuation of American citizens and our allies and partners," spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement provided to Fox News.
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From Aug. 27 at 3 a.m. ET to Aug. 27 at 3 p.m. ET, a total of 12 U.S. military flights evacuated about 2,100 people. An additional 29 coalition flights evacuated approximately 2,100 people.
The U.S. has now evacuated approximately 109,200 people since Aug. 14 and about 114,800 since the end of the July, according to the White House.
"They’re coming here, starting over with what they bring with them," Gen. Glen VanHerck told reporters. "We’ve been incredibly well supported by the local communities and non-governmental organizations, etc., that have jumped in to help these families with things of need such as diapers, formula, clothing, you name it."
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Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller was relieved for cause after demanding that senior U.S. leaders hold themselves accountable for actions made during the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan that led to the deaths of 13 service members.
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President Biden plans to order lethal force against the ISIS-K terrorists responsible for carrying out suicide bombings that killed U.S. service members at Kabul’s airport, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki indicated on Friday.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Psaki to clarify what Biden meant following his pledge to act against ISIS-K, the Islamic State offshoot that claimed responsibility for the bombings. At least 13 U.S. service members were killed in the attack.
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The Biden administration has faced intense criticism since reports surfaced that U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of American citizens, green card holders, and Afghan allies in an effort to grant them entry to the airport. State Dept. spokesman Ned Price denied officials have taken any action along those lines that endangered American lives.
"What I can say is that the idea that we are providing names or personally identifying information to the Taliban in a way that exposes anyone to additional risk - that is simply wrong," Price said. "What we have developed, what we have been doing, we have implemented effective tactics."
"The notion that we are just providing them with names upon names of individuals who may stay behind in Afghanistan or in a way that would expose to anyone to additional risk, that is simply false."
State Department spokesman Ned Price was pressed to detail the Biden administration's stance on whether the Taliban should get international recognition.
"These are not questions that we are prepared to answer today, and we are not prepared to answer them today precisely because we have heard a range of statements from the Taliban. Some of them have been positive, some of them have been constructive, but ultimately, what we will be looking for, what our international partners will be looking for, are deeds, not words," Price said.
The U.S. military now says 11 of the service members killed in yesterday's suicide bombing at Kabul airport were Marines, in addition to a U.S. soldier and Navy Corpsman, according to Fox News' Jennifer Griffin.
"I think he made clear yesterday he does not want them to live on the earth anymore," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday when asked by Fox News' Peter Doocy about President Biden's vow to track down those responsible for the Kabul airport bombing.
The Pentagon on Friday announced that it is opening more military bases to hold up to 50,000 Afghan nationals who are either applying for Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) status or are deemed to be "at risk."
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the U.S. is opening up Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Fort Pickett in Virginia and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico to provide support to the U.S. mission to evacuate SIV applicants and other individuals deemed at risk.
That’s in addition to the use of Fort Lee in Virginia, Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, Fort Bliss in Texas and Joint Base McGuire-Dix in New Jersey.
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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Friday that President Biden met with his national security team this morning in the Situation Room, where he and Vice President Kamala Harris were told that “another terror attack in Kabul is likely, but that they are taking maximum force protection measures at the Kabul Airport.”
The national security team “reported that even in the face of those threats, our courageous service women and men are continuing to operate a historic evacuation operation.
“The U.S. military is airlifting out thousands of people every few hours,” Psaki continued. “They continue to prioritize evacuating the remaining American citizens who have indicated that they wish to leave, and are engaged in a variety of means to get them to the airport safely.”
Psaki also said “our commanders also updated the President and Vice President on plans to develop ISIS-K targets.
“The next few days of this mission will be the most dangerous period to date,” she added. “The President reaffirmed with the commanders his approval of all authorities they need to conduct the operation and protect our troops, and all reported back that they have the resources they believe they need to do so effectively.”
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Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Cali., on Friday announced the rescue of two additional San Diego families who were stranded in Afghanistan.
The announcement comes after California's Cajon Valley Union School District, which has been working in collaboration with Issa's office in recent days, said Thursday that three San Diego-area families were successfully evacuated from Afghanistan while another five families, including 14 students and eight parents, remain stuck in the country.
"Amidst the heartbreak of yesterday and the chaos that has gripped Afghanistan for weeks, we continue to make extraordinary progress in bringing our people home," Congressman Issa said in a Friday statement. "It is an honor to help rescue and reunite families and loved ones, but we still have more work to do."
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Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby speaks to reporters Friday. (Fox News)
The Pentagon said that "thousands" of ISIS Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) prisoners were freed by the Taliban during their takeover of Afghanistan in the days leading up to the bombing near the Kabul airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members Thursday.
During a press briefing Friday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby responded to a question from Fox News' Jennifer Griffin about how many prisoners were released from the prison at Bagram, Afghanistan, and why they were not removed before the U.S. pulled out its troops.
"How many ISIS-K prisoners were left at Bagram and are believed to have been released from the prison there, and why weren't they removed before the U.S. pulled out to some place like GTMO?" asked Griffin, referring to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
"Well, I don't know the exact number. Clearly, it's in the thousands when you consider both prisons, because both of them were taken over by the Taliban and emptied. But I couldn't give you a precise figure," responded Kirby.
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(AP/Maxar Technologies)
People are seen loading on an aircraft at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Friday.
An interpreter known as 'Carl' opens up on 'America's Newsroom' about his belief that he will not leave Afghanistan.
Two House Republicans are introducing articles of impeachment on Friday, arguing that Secretary of State Antony Blinken failed to properly advise the president and abandoned American interests in Afghanistan.
"Secretary Blinken has failed to faithfully uphold his oath and has instead presided over a reckless abandonment of our nation’s interests, security, and values in his role in the withdrawal of American forces and diplomatic assets from Afghanistan," reads the articles.
They add that "[i]n direct conflict with the intelligence and advice provided by his own diplomats and the intelligence community, Secretary Blinken failed to advise and counsel the President accordingly and did not inform the Congress nor American citizens at home and abroad of the dangers."
The move by Rep Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Rep Andy Harris, R-Md., comes as many Republicans have called for some level of accountability for the attacks that left 13 U.S. service members dead Thursday.
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The German Foreign Office closed the embassy in Afghanistan and ended its military evacuation while an unknown number of residents and local employees remain stranded in the country.
A statement and instructions posted on the government’s website asked any German nationals still in Afghanistan to register their details on diplomatic websites.
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The death toll in a pair of suicide bombings that rocked Kabul yesterday has risen again as evacuation flights remain ongoing Friday, officials say.
At least 169 Afghans were killed according to two officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, in addition to the 13 U.S. service members killed in the attack.
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Crowds are seen Thursday outside of Kabul's airport prior to the suicide bombing. (Reuters)
A former Afghan interpreter who has been trying to escape the country through Kabul’s airport says he has observed the Taliban beating people – including women – near the gate that was targeted in yesterday’s deadly suicide bombing.
The interpreter, identified by Newsy only as Jack, reportedly was driven away by the Taliban from the area of the Abbey Gate on Wednesday night before an explosion there killed 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans.
"The Taliban, they were beating the women," he told Newsy. "They just used the violence against each civilian. They didn't ask who has documents, they didn't care."
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An eyewitness on the ground during Thursday's terror attacks near the Kabul airport told Fox News that many Afghans refused to leave the area despite the chaos out of desperation to escape the country.
"They are scared, they are fearful, yet they don't want to leave that area because they still want to leave this country," Azaz Syed, who arrived near the airport shortly after the blast, said of the Afghans. "They say … that they don't have a future."
In the midst of the chaos, he told Fox News that people were still coming up to him asking if he could help get him into the airport.
"They are losing hope," Syed said.
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(AP)
The American flag atop the White House was seen being flown at half-staff on Thursday following the suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan that left 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans dead.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that “the Taliban have made a request for us to operate Kabul airport,” according to the Associated Press.
“We have not yet made a decision on this matter,” Erdogan added during a news conference at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. “We will make a decision after the administration [in Afghanistan] is clear.”
Erdogan made the comments following a meeting between Turkish officials and the Taliban at Turkey’s embassy in Kabul, the Associated Press reports.
Turkey is currently in the process of evacuating its troops from Afghanistan.
A White House official tells Fox News approximately 12,500 people were evacuated from Kabul between 3 a.m. ET Thursday and that time this morning.
That 24-hour period – in which 35 U.S. military and 54 coalition flights carried out the evacuations – includes the deadly bombing outside of the gates of Kabul’s airport that left 13 U.S. service members dead.
The U.S. as now evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of around 105,000 people since Aug. 14, the official added.
Sirajuddin Haqqani is the senior leader of the Haqqani network, which the U.S. designated terror group in 2012 and has been linked to bombings, abductions and other attacks. (FBI)
Sirajuddin Haqqani is the Taliban’s deputy leader and head of the semi-independent Haqqani network, a designated terror group with a reputation for discipline and violence in Afghanistan.
Haqqani is also the head of the Taliban’s military strategy and was placed in charge of security in Kabul after the militants seized the city last week.
His exact age is unclear, but he is believed to have been born in either Afghanistan or Pakistan between 1973 and 1980, according to the FBI, which placed him on its Most Wanted list and is offering a $5 million reward.
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“My heart is breaking over the loss of so many brave troops engaged in so noble an endeavor” Robert Gates, the former U.S. Defense Secretary in the Bush and Obama administrations, tells Fox News in a statement following the deadly suicide bombing Thursday outside of Kabul airport.
“To their families, I extend my deepest sympathy and condolences,” he added. “To the wounded and their families, my prayers for a full recovery and gratitude for their service.”
Afghans lie on beds at a hospital after they were wounded in the deadly attacks outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asif Khan)
A day after two suicide bombings hit the Kabul airport, the death toll in Afghanistan has risen to more than 100 people.
Thursday’s bombings near Kabul’s international airport killed at least 95 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, Afghan and U.S. officials said, in the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since August 2011.
Late Thursday, U.S. Defense Department officials said the death toll for U.S. service members remained at 13, but the count included 10 Marines and two Army soldiers – instead of the previously reported 12 Marines. One Navy corpsman also was killed, officials said.
The true total death toll for the attack could climb higher still, an official said Friday, because some people may have taken bodies away from the scene before they could be counted. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to the media.
President Biden said Friday "our mission will go on" and promised to bring home the remaining Americans and Afghan allies. But on Friday thousands still remained in the country trying to escape the shadow of the Taliban, which took over earlier this month in the absence of American forces.
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A recently evacuated young Afghan boy carries a child at the Ramstein U.S. Air Base, Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021.
Evacuation flights out of Afghanistan resumed Friday, less than a day after two bombings left at least 13 U.S. service members and more than 95 Afghans dead at the Kabul airport.
The U.S. military is rushing to get thousands of Americans and Afghans who helped the U.S. during the war out before next Tuesday's deadline.
President Biden has eschewed pressure to extend the deadline and the Taliban, which took control of the country as the U.S. withdrew forces, has warned of unspecified consequences if all service members aren’t out on time. The president has also cited the threat of more terrorist attacks.
The U.S. has said that more attacks could come before Tuesday.
By Thursday, the U.S. said more than 100,000 people had been evacuated already but at least 1,000 Americans and tens of thousands of Afghans are still waiting to get out of the country.
Many American allies, however, are close to or have already ceased their flights out of the country. Canada, Belgium and Spain have all completed their evacuation efforts and Britain and France said they would cease flights within the next few hours.
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U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas.
The U.S. could see terrorism along the U.S.-Mexico border following the deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, a Republican congressman from Texas warned Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, who served in the U.S. Navy and supported combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he feared the deadly attack in Kabul earlier Thursday was the beginning of "what we will continue to see."
Gonzales also claimed the attack might encourage terrorists stateside, and he specifically called on President Biden to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
"My biggest fear is these attacks today are just the beginning of what we will continue to see as the Administration fails to get Americans and our Afghan allies out and to safety," Gonzales tweeted after the attacks.
"Suicide bombs in Kabul today - suicide bombs in the US tomorrow. Biden must IMMEDIATELY secure our southern border before it’s too late!" he added from another Twitter account. "Our southern border is unsecured at a time when international terrorism is peaking. America please remain vigilant at all times. If you see something, say something."
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Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
U.S. equity futures appeared poised for a rebound following Thursday's decline as chaos deepened in Afghanistan following two explosions outside the airport in Kabul.
The major futures indexes suggested a gain of 0.3% for the Dow, a rise of 0.3% for the S&P 500 and an increase of 0.3% for the Nasdaq.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude picked up $1.10 to $68.54 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used as the price basis for international oils, added $1.04 to $72.12.
In Thursday's Wall Street session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 192 points or 0.54%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.58% and 0.64%, respectively. Both the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite index closed at all-time highs on Wednesday.
Asian stock markets were mixed Friday as investors awaited more guidance on the U.S. Federal Reserve's easing plans.
In Europe, London's FTSE added 0.1%, Germany's DAX gained 0.1% and France's CAC was flat.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the central bank's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later Friday.
Any indicators when the bank will start scaling back on asset purchases will be watched. Several Fed officials have suggested that the easing will take place sooner rather than later, although a firm timeline has not been set.
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Wounded Afghans lie on a bed at a hospital after a deadly explosions outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021.
Flights to evacuate those from Afghanistan resumed Friday following the deadly attack Thursday at Kabul's airport.
Biden pledged to move forward with evacuation flights despite the attack, asserting that U.S. officials have sufficient time and resources to evacuate all Americans who wish to leave Afghanistan by Aug. 31.
Some allies noted they are ending evacuation efforts, in part, to give the U.S time to its troops out of the country by Tuesday's withdrawal deadline, the Associated Press reported.
On Friday, Britain said its evacuations will end within hours, while the Spanish government said it ended its evacuation operation.
The U.S. said additional attempted attacks are expected ahead of the deadline, according to the AP.
Families begin to board a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 23. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz).
American military forces are "conceding" as evacuation efforts continue in Afghanistan, a former special forces flight surgeon told Fox News on Thursday.
Lt. Col. Omar Hamada, M.D., warned that the Taliban would "own the entire country by Sunday."
"It's pretty devastating," Hamada told Fox News regarding the ongoing events in Afghanistan. "All American forces are currently being moved out and Kabul airport is being evacuated as we speak. We're conceding."
Hamada, an active emergency medical doctor, also said he believes the U.S. will be completely evacuated out of Afghanistan prior to the Aug. 31 deadline.
"The Taliban will own the entire country by Sunday," Hamada predicted. "We are probably going to be out of there before the deadline of the 31st and in doing so, we will be leaving many Americans and allies in country."
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U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., is seen in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Oct. 14, 2020. (Associated Press)
Congress needs to "reclaim its authority over war powers" to avoid another catastrophe on the scale of Thursday's deadly Afghanistan terror attack, a Republican congressman said Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan spoke out after at least 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans were killed at the Kabul airport.
"Tonight, I grieve with the families. Tomorrow, we work to do everything we can to ensure no other family suffers a tragedy like this," Meijer wrote on Twitter.
"My heart is absolutely broken after today’s horrific attack against Marines at Kabul Airport’s Abbey Gate. I struggle to put together the right words knowing the pain that 13 families, and their fellow Marines, are going through tonight. No talk can ease that suffering," he wrote in another tweet.
Pentagon officials said 10 Marines, as well as two Army soldiers and one Navy corpsman, died in the attack.
Meijer said the service members should not have been put in such a dangerous situation at the airport, blaming "President Biden’s reckless withdrawal" for giving them "no other choice."
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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two to return to Washington from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (Associated Press)
Kamala Harris returned to the U.S. on Thursday, landing in Hawaii after her trip to Singapore and Vietnam.
But the vice president ignored reporters’ questions – whether about Afghanistan or other topics – as she got off Air Force Two for a stop at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
She also blocked reporters from attending her planned address to U.S. troops stationed at the base, according to reports.
The Pearl Harbor stop had been scheduled prior to Thursday's terrorist attack at the Kabul airport that killed at least 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans.
An Islamic State group affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack. After the attack, reporters traveling with Harris learned her Hawaii visit with the troops would be closed to the press.
"The VP’s staff informed the pool during the flight that her event with troops at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam would now be closed press," the White House press pool said, according to the Washington Examiner. "No explanation given by the VP’s team for why it has been changed to closed press when asked by a member of the pool."
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Gen. Frank McKenzie, who is overseeing the evacuation, said Thursday that about 5,000 people were still awaiting flight on the airfield.
He told the Associated Press there was a large amount of security at Kabul's airport, and alternate routes were being used to get evacuees in.
About 7,500 people were evacuated from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, a White House official said.
Smoke rises from a deadly explosion outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)
A suicide bomb attack Thursday outside the Abbey Gate at Kabul's airport in Afghanistan killed 13 U.S. service members and injured at least 18 more, U.S. officials said – making it the deadliest day for U.S. troops in 10 years.
Officials told Fox News late Thursday that those killed included 10 Marines, two Army soldiers and a Navy corpsman, correcting earlier reports that 12 Marines were killed.
The suicide bomb attack was followed up by a firefight by Islamic State gunmen at the gate, where the night before there had been 5,000 Afghans and potentially some Americans seeking access to the airport to flee.
Crowds had gathered for days seeking to escape the country, and there had been multiple warnings of a terror threat to the area – particularly from the Islamic State.
The Pentagon confirmed the initial explosion as well as a second attack at the Baron Hotel, where Americans have gathered in the past for rescue and evacuation. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr. said two suicide bombers were assessed to be ISIS fighters.
"The threat from ISIS is extremely real," he said. "We believe it is their desire to continue those attacks, and we expect those attacks to continue, and we're doing everything we can to prepare for those attacks."
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Scenes from Kabul following Thursday's attack. (Getty Images)
The U.S. Defense Department late Thursday revised its descriptions of the service members who were killed in Thursday’s Kabul airport attack in Afghanistan.
The death toll for the U.S. military remained at 13, but Defense Department officials told Fox News that the count now stands at 10 Marines, two Army soldiers and one Navy corpsman killed in the attack.
The revised information corrected a previous breakdown that said 12 Marines and one Navy corpsman had died.
The attack was the deadliest day for the U.S. military in more than 10 years. In addition to those killed, at least 18 service members were injured, military officials said.
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Former President Donald Trump released a statement offering sympathy to the families of the 13 soldiers killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan Thursday while the Biden administration attempts to pin the blame for the chaos on Trump.
"Melania and I send our deepest condolences to the families of our brilliant and brave Service Members whose duty to the U.S.A. meant so much to them," Trump said in a statement Thursday hours before Biden addressed the American people. "Our thoughts are also with the families of the innocent civilians who died today in the savage Kabul attack. This tragedy should never have been allowed to happen, which makes our grief even deeper and more difficult to understand. May God Bless the U.S.A."
Amid the chaotic scramble at Kabul’s airport to evacuate the remaining Americans and U.S. allies out of Afghanistan following the swift collapse of the Afghan government and military at the hands of the repressive Taliban forces, a blame game of sorts has broken out among President Biden and his predecessor in the White House.
Biden has repeatedly cited his predecessor in multiple statements and speeches and Trump has issued a flurry of statements the past couple of days, going as far as arguing that it’s time for the president "to resign in disgrace."
Biden officials have attempted to make the argument that the administration was handcuffed by an agreement with the Taliban signed by President Trump in Doha, Qatar in February 2020, which included a U.S. pledge to remove troops from Afghanistan.
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dismissed calls for President Joe Biden to resign in the wake of a terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. service members, saying that there’s no room for politics in the discussion of the tragedy.
"This is a day where U.S. service members, 12 of them, lost their lives at the hands of terrorists," Psaki said during a Thursday briefing. "It is not a day for politics. We would expect that any American, whether they are elected or not, would stand with us in our commitment to going after and fighting and killing those terrorists wherever they live and to honoring the lives of service members, that’s what this day is for."
Several prominent Republicans, including Sens. Josh Hawley and Marsha Blackburn and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have called for Biden to step down following the suicide bombing, arguing that the chaos that has unfolded in Afghanistan has shown that Biden does not possess the necessary leadership to continue serving as president. Blackburn responded to Psaki later Thursday, tweeting that Biden "and his administration should have never made the political decision to withdraw by a specific date — just so they could take a victory lap on the 20th remembrance of 9/11."
"To say that today’s loss of American lives in Kabul is sickening does not begin to do justice to what has happened," Hawley tweeted Thursday. "It is enraging. And Joe Biden is responsible. It is now clear beyond all doubt that he has neither the capacity nor the will to lead. He must resign."
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President Joe Biden pauses as he listens to a question about the bombings at the Kabul airport that killed at least 12 U.S. service members, from the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The United States saw the deadliest day for American troops in 10 years Thursday, after at least 13 service members were killed and 18 others injured in a suicide bomb attack outside the Abbey Gate at Kabul airport.
Dozens of Afghan citizens were also killed after thousands flooded to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in an attempt to flee the Taliban-ridden country, less than two weeks after the collapse of Afghanistan.
"I bear responsibility for fundamentally all that’s happened," President Biden told reporters Thursday.
"You know as well as I do that the former president made a deal with the Taliban that he would get all American forces out of Afghanistan by May 1," he said. "In return, he was given the commitment that the Taliban would continue to attack others, but would not attack any American forces."
Biden’s acceptance of the Trump-Taliban deal reached by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the basis for the calamity that has unfolded in Afghanistan, argued Kori Schake, senior fellow and director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
"We made a deal with our adversaries that required the government we were fighting to uphold, to release five thousand prisoners. And we agreed that our adversaries could continue to attack the government we were supporting, as long as they didn’t attack us," she told Fox News. "I don’t think that we should be surprised that that was hugely corrosive to Afghan’s willingness to keep fighting."
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