Just a mistake, y’all!
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admitted the United States military may have killed up to 10 civilians, including up to seven children, in a drone strike in Kabul on August 29 that was intended to kill an Islamic State-Khorasan attacker.
Austin said in a statement Friday:
The investigation concluded that the strike — conducted to prevent what was believed to be an imminent threat to Hamid Karzai International Airport — resulted in the deaths of as many as 10 people, including up to seven children.
On behalf of the men and women of the Department of Defense, I offer my deepest condolences to surviving family members of those who were killed, including Mr. Ahmadi, and to the staff of Nutrition and Education International, Mr. Ahmadi’s employer.
We now know that there was no connection between Mr. Ahmadi and ISIS-Khorasan, that his activities on that day were completely harmless and not at all related to the imminent threat we believed we faced, and that Mr. Ahmadi was just as innocent a victim as were the others tragically killed.
We apologize, and we will endeavor to learn from this horrible mistake.
Just a mistake. Who’s going to pay for that mistake? Remember Biden right after the strike?
(Rolling Stone) President Biden warned ISIS-K members that the United States will continue to retaliate for a bombing near Kabul airport on Thursday that killed a number of people, including 13 U.S. troops. He also warned that military commanders believe another attack is “highly likely†in the next “24-36 hours.â€
“This strike was not the last,†the president said in a statement Saturday afternoon, renewing a vow he made in a speech Thursday. “We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay.â€
He’s the one that ordered it. He’s the Commander in Chief, ultimately responsible.
According to Army Maj. Gen. William “Hank†Taylor, who spoke at a Pentagon press conference on Saturday, one of the Islamic State members killed by the drone strike was known as a “planner,†while another was a “facilitator.†Another person was wounded, Taylor said, but he refused to identify any of the targets or say whether they were directly connected to the Kabul attack. When reporters asked for more details, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said, “They were ISIS-K planners and facilitators and that’s enough reason there alone.â€
They were pretty darned sure then, eh?
Liberal media hammers Biden admin over botched Afghan drone strike: ‘This is absolutely horrifying’
The Biden administration renewed unprecedented backlash from members of the liberal media over its botched drone strike meant to target ISIS-K terrorists but killed Aghan civilians instead.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper kicked off his show Friday by calling out the Pentagon’s “massive and deadly mistake.”
“This is a total about-face from the Pentagon’s initial denial they got anything wrong days after the attack,” Tapper told his viewers.
Except, none of them are actually bashing Biden (who’s on vacation again, and there’s still no statement from the White House). The Pentagon, sure, but, none are actually calling for anyone to be fired.
- NY Times: Pentagon Says Drone Strike That Killed 10 in Afghanistan Was Mistake
- Washington Post: U.S. military admits ‘horrible mistake’ in drone strike that killed 10 Afghans
- ABC News: I know there’s a story, because I ran across it on Yahoo News on tablet, but, it’s not on the front page.
- CBS News: Pentagon admits drone strike killed Afghan civilians (video only, no article)
- NBC News: U.S. drone strike in Kabul mistakenly killed civilians, not terrorists, Pentagon says
- LA Times: Pentagon reverses itself, says Kabul drone strike killed civilians in mistake (way down the page)
That’s just a smattering. Even some of the friendly overseas media is Blaming the Pentagon and calling it a “mistake.” It sure didn’t seem like a mistake when the Pentagon and Biden were announcing it, eh? Now, think back to when the Trump admin drone struck (striked?) General Soleimani, and the furor aimed right at Trump. They were calling it illegal, and some were even saying Trump should be impeached. Some called it a war crime. But, hitting 10, including 7 kids, in what was a massive mistake, something that wasn’t even close, and certainly not getting any ISIS-K members? Just a mistake.
Read: Biden Admin Says Drone Strike That Killed 10 Was A “Mistake” »