The Pentagon confirmed Friday that a drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan killed at least ten civilians, not the ISIS-K terrorists originally targeted to prevent a potential car-bomb attack against civilians at the capital’s international airport.
Seven of the victims were children.
Biden administration admits it killed innocent civilians, not ISIS terrorist in Kabul drone strike https://t.co/hVEAmXs5Ki pic.twitter.com/xmb1Qya0sF
— New York Post (@nypost) September 17, 2021
“The Pentagon acknowledged that a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan on Aug. 29 was a tragic mistake that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, a military official said,” reports the New York Times.
Breaking News: The Pentagon acknowledged that a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan on Aug. 29 was a tragic mistake that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, a military official said.https://t.co/oC6Lnr32hv
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 17, 2021
US admits drone strike in Kabul just before military pullout killed 10 innocent people – official tells BBC's US partner CBS News https://t.co/nFA0Aij1bV
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) September 17, 2021
U.S. military admits errors in Kabul drone strike that killed Afghan bystanders, including children, as war came to a chaotic close https://t.co/lXVcQGyz3E
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 17, 2021
The Pentagon acknowledged on Friday that a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan on Aug. 29 that officials said was necessary to prevent an attack on American troops was a tragic mistake that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, an American military official familiar with the investigation said,” writes the newspaper.
“The explosives the military claimed were loaded in the trunk of a white Toyota sedan struck by the drone’s Hellfire missile were most likely water bottles, and a secondary explosion in the courtyard in a densely populated Kabul neighborhood where that attack took place was probably a propane or gas tank, the official said. In short, the car posed no threat at all, investigators concluded,” adds the NY Times.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
BIDEN to USA: ‘I Stand Squarely Behind My Decision’
President Biden addressed the nation Monday afternoon as chaos engulfed Afghanistan, saying he “stands squarely behind his decision” as the Taliban seize control of the capital.
“I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US Forces. That’s why we’re still there. We were Clear-eyed about the risk. We planned for every contingency… The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we anticipated,” said the President.
President Biden: "I stand squarely behind my decision." https://t.co/xSraFPsRSg pic.twitter.com/79KHqV5OBD
— The Hill (@thehill) August 16, 2021
US Troops shot and killed two armed gunmen at Kabul’s Airport Monday as thousands of Afghans attempted to flee the country while the Taliban rapidly seizes control.
“In separate incidents at the airport on Monday, U.S. troops shot and killed two armed men at the airport and at least three Afghans clinging to the side of an Air Force jet were run over and killed,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
At least 7,000 US Soldiers will be deployed to protect the airport and evacuate American citizens in the days ahead.
President Biden will address the nation at 3:45 from the White House.
Biden will address the country today, as Afghans clinging to US planes fall to their deaths in Kabul. Hard to script a worse propaganda victory for our enemies as we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11. There is nothing Biden can say now to right the wrong of his failed policy.
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) August 16, 2021
A reporter on CNN described the chaos unfolding in Afghanistan’s capital city Monday; telling viewers the Taliban fighters are chanting “Death to America” but they “seem friendly at the same time.”
“The Taliban fighters have flooded the capital. Smiling and victorious, they took the city of six million people in a matter of hours, barely firing a shot,” says the narrator.
“They tell us they’re here to maintain law and order,” she adds. “They’re just chanting ‘Death to America’ but they seem friendly at the same time.”
CNN REPORTER ON TALIBAN: "They're just chanting 'death to America,' but they seem friendly at the same time."
The same reporter then says the Taliban have a "welcoming spirit" as they wave rifles in the air.
Yes, this is a real clip. pic.twitter.com/VdXWplr8V2
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) August 16, 2021
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan weighed-in on the chaos engulfing Afghanistan Monday; admitting the Biden administration was caught off-guard by the “speed” of the Taliban advance.
“The president did not think it was inevitable that the Taliban were going to take control of Afghanistan,” Sullivan told ABC News. “He thought the Afghan national security forces could step up and fight because we spent 20 years, tens of billions of dollars, training them, giving them the best equipment, giving them support of U.S. forces for 20 years.”
“When push came to shove, they decided not to step up and fight for their country,” Sullivan added.
Scenes of panic and chaos played out at the airport in Kabul as crowds of people desperate to escape Afghanistan rushed onto the tarmac.
Some clung to the sides of planes, even as one taxied down the runway, in a bid to flee the Taliban.https://t.co/pAgoGW7tos pic.twitter.com/4YGQd2iEzk
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 16, 2021
“We planned for a wide range of contingencies, one of those was the need to flow in a substantial number of forces to secure the airport and be able to facilitate that evacuation,” Sullivan explained. “We have now successfully drawn down the U.S. embassy in Kabul. We have moved all of those personnel either to the airport or out of the country. And we flowed in several thousand troops who had been prepositioned in theater for precisely this purpose.”
BREAKING: Seven people are dead amid the chaos at the Kabul airport, including some who fell from a departing American military transport jet, senior U.S. military officials say. https://t.co/2JPKZXpx4n
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 16, 2021
“We are working to do that, first, by securing the airport today and then in the days ahead, by taking people out one flight a time, flight after flight,” Sullivan said. “We fully intend to continue an evacuation process to bring out people who worked alongside of us in Afghanistan.”
Biden to address nation on Afghanistan "soon" https://t.co/sUMBFFi2Za pic.twitter.com/SbvXd4d3zT
— The Hill (@thehill) August 16, 2021
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
BIDEN: My Withdrawal Plan from Afghanistan Was ‘Rational, Logical, and Right’
President Biden addressed the nation Sunday afternoon on the chaos unfolding in Afghanistan, saying his decision to abruptly exit the country was “rational, logical, and right.”
“There are number of places where we’re doing that, without permanently placing American forces there… But look, that’s the job. My job is to make judgments no one else can or will make. I made them, I’m convinced I’m absolutely correct in not sending more women and men to war,” said Biden.
“I don’t trust anybody, there’s not a lot of people I trust. The Taliban has to make a fundamental decision. Are they going to attempt to be able to unite and provide for the well-being of the people of Afghanistan?” he added.
A firefight erupted at Kabul’s international airport early Monday as thousands of American troops struggle to evacuate citizens and foreign allies from Afghanistan amid the Taliban’s rapid take-over.
“One Afghan security personnel was killed and three others wounded when the firefight erupted between Afghan security forces and unknown attackers, the official account of the German Joint Forces Operations Command said in a tweet Monday,” reports CNBC.
“The German military also said that American and German forces were involved in the progression of the fighting, but that all of the German forces on the ground were unharmed,” adds the financial news outlet.
A report from Fox News highlights the scope of the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan as the network claims the Taliban now control 75,000 vehicles, 200 aircraft, 600,000 weapons and $85 billion in funding.
Watch the President’s comments above.