On Thursday (August 26), United States President Joe Biden appeared visibly frustrated on being quizzed about the death of 13 US Marines in a deadly terror attack at the Hamid Karzai International airport in Kabul.
Without mincing any words, Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Biden whether he was willing to take any responsibility for the Afghanistan crisis. “Mr. President, there had not been a U.S. service member killed in combat in Afghanistan since February of 2020. You set a deadline, you pulled troops out, you sent troops back in, and now 12 Marines are dead. You said the buck stops with you. Do you bear any responsibility for the way that things have unfolded in the last two weeks?” he inquired.
Joe Biden, who kept Doocy waiting till the end, fumbled as he was pressed with a tough question. The US President managed to get his act together and said that he bore responsibility for everything that had occurred ‘of late’. However, he blamed former President Donald Trump for setting May 1 as the final date of exit for all US troops from Afghanistan. “This was a year before. In return, he was given a commitment that the Taliban will continue to attack others but not attack the American forces. Remember that? I am being serious,” he engaged in rhetorics.
After having comprehended the US President’s tactics to avoid answering hard questions, Peter Doocy emphasised, “Donald Trump is not president right now.” Biden tried to interject and stop the Fox News correspondent halfway. At about 1:27 minutes into the conversation, he went on bend his head, close his eyes and rest his hands on the podium. It was evident that Biden was irritated with Doccy’s line of questioning. His gesture was widely criticised by the netizens for showcasing the US government’s weakness and incompetence in dealing with the situation.
While commenting on the incident, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted, “This is what weakness looks like.”
This is what weakness looks like. pic.twitter.com/a7vqlqYUhU
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 26, 2021
A Twitter user (@MarcusJoannou) wrote, “Weakness, incompetence and evil personified.”
Weakness, incompetence, and evil personified.
— MarcusJ (@MarcusJoannou) August 27, 2021
Another user remarked, “This bloke has destroyed a 20 year US/UK presence in #Afghanistan in less than 2 weeks.OMG America, what have you done?”
This bloke has destroyed a 20 year US/UK presence in #Afghanistan in less than 2 weeks.
— Anff (no DMs)🌼🌷🇬🇧🏴 (@AnffJB) August 27, 2021
OMG America, what have you done?#JoeBiden #BidenDisaster #KabulAiport pic.twitter.com/w2uRVd8j4x
Another user stated, “History will not be kind to USA for voting this fool as the President.”
#JoeBiden
— JonnyBerlin (@newjonnyberlin) August 27, 2021
History will not be kind to USA 🇺🇸 for voting this fool as @POTUS
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 #ImpeachBiden pic.twitter.com/6YDUULox00
US Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley tweeted, “To say that today’s loss of American lives in Kabul is sickening does not begin to do justice to what has happened. 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”
To say that today’s loss of American lives in Kabul is sickening does not begin to do justice to what has happened. 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
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) August 26, 2021
It must be mentioned that the incumbent US President Joe Biden had initially decided to withdraw all the American troops from Afghanistan by September 21 this year. His administration had extended the timeline from May 1 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Halfway through, he decided to facilitate an early exit on August 31 without considering the aftermath.
Suicide bombing by ISKP at Kabul airport kills stranded Afghans
On Thursday, August 26, bomb blasts near the Hamid Karzai international airport in Afghan’s capital Kabul killed more than 100 people, including 13 US troops, disrupting the ongoing Afghan evacuation of tens of thousands of stranded civilians. Soon after the attacks on their forces, the United States officials attributed attacks that killed more than 100 people at the Kabul airport to Islamic State’s regional affiliate Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). The ISKP has also taken responsibility for the bombing of the Kabul airport and has released images of the terrorist who blew himself up inside the Kabul airport. Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri of the ISKP was allegedly the suicide bomber.
Not just weapons and helicopters, US left biometric data of allies in Afghanistan
Days after the Taliban took over the reins of Afghanistan, it has now come to light that the United States has also left its allies in Afghanistan vulnerable to attack by the radical Islamist outfit. As per an exclusive report by Politico, the Biden administration had handed out a list of American citizens, Afghan allies, and green card holders to the Taliban so as to allow their evacuation from the Hamid Karzai International airport in Kabul. Despite being well aware that the Taliban has a history of killing US allies, the decision to provide specific names to the Islamist outfit by the Biden administration has put their life in jeopardy.
Not just the lists, the Taliban reportedly also have biometric data of all Afghans who had worked with US and NATO forces. After the capture of Afghanistan, a large number of biometric devices, along with weapons, vehicles, and ammunition left behind by American and fleeing Afghan forces were captured by the Taliban. With the US-built military devices, the Taliban now potentially have the access to the biometric database of Afghans. Some devices also store local copies for such databases, which will be easily accessible to the new tech-savvy Taliban. Politico also reported that The Taliban is now going door-to-door in search of Afghan interpreters and US allies after the Biden administration ‘outsourced’ the security to the Taliban.
