Saturday, July 27, 2024
Addressing the attack The Pentagon held a news conference earlier today where they elaborated on the events surrounding yesterday’s suicide bombing near Hamid Karzai International Airport. “I can confirm for you that we did not believe there was a second explosion at or near the Baron Hotel. That was one suicide bomber.” said Army Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor.
The Pentagon held a news conference earlier today where they elaborated on the events surrounding yesterday’s suicide bombing near Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Taylor also confirmed that 13 service members died in the attack, making yesterday’s final numbers correct. He reflected, “This is a devastating time for these Gold Star families, a title no one wants to hold, but we absolutely hold in the utmost respect.”
Despite the usual lack of specificity, Taylor did provide some details. He said, “Yesterday, 35 US military aircraft, 29 C-17s and six C-130s, departed with approximately 1500 personnel, combined with 54 coalition aircraft departures.”
Immediately after, Taylor stated, “In the past 24 hours more than 300 American citizens were evacuated from Afghanistan bringing our updated total to approximately 5,100.”
“We continue to maximize our efficiency and since the US and coalition forces began the evacuation, approximately 111,000 evacuees have departed safely.” Taylor also confirmed.
Maj. Gen. Taylor ended these comments by reaffirming the value of the evacuation mission. He stated, “We have seen firsthand how dangerous that mission is. But ISIS will not deter us from accomplishing this mission… Above all, we remain focused on evacuating American citizens and other personnel designated by the Department of State, safeguarding the lives of those whom are providing assistance in keeping American troops safe.”
This conference follows President Joe Biden’s remarks that the evacuation would continue, as he stated yesterday, “We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission. We will continue the evacuation.”
While the sentiment here is admirable, it is slightly contrary to the assertion President Biden made only a few moments before. It conflicts with his claim that “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay. I will defend our interests and our people with every measure at my command.”
“America will not be intimidated,” claimed Biden. Despite that, the evacuation efforts are continuing while the retaliative measures that will follow remain unknown.
A somewhat ambiguous response was given by President Biden, when asked about the possibility of retaliation. He said, “…with regard to finding, tracking down the ISIS leaders who ordered this, we have some reason to believe we know who they are—not certain—and we will find ways of our choosing, without large military operations, to get them.”
“Again, we’re still planning on ending this mission at the end of the month.” Kirby reaffirmed during the conference, just before delving into some topical details.
Regarding the continuing mission, Kirby claimed that public information about capabilities on the ground will begin to minimize as the withdrawal deadline approaches. He said, “I would not expect us to be giving that number out going forward, and what the capabilities are and where they are and what they’re doing. We’re going to be very, very mindful of the operational security element of this. And I think yesterday is a stark grim reminder of why that’s important going forward.”
When asked about to provide specifics on the branch affiliations of the service members who passed yesterday, Kirby deferred the reporter to the services. Kirby justified this with, “As you can imagine, they’re having to have difficult conversations with a number of families and we here at the department don’t want to get ahead of that process.”
One reporter asked Press Sec. Kirby about the security efforts that are being done in conjunction with the Taliban, which he mostly avoided. “So, I’m not going to, certainly wouldn’t, speculate one way or another about what’s going to happen after this particular mission ends.” Kirby said.
A different reporter posed a question to Maj. Gen. Taylor, presumably to see if the suicide bombing has impacted the relationships between the various groups in Afghanistan. The reporter asked, “In the wake of the attack, since ISIS is also a problem for the Taliban, is there potential there to coordinate, to actually target ISIS?”
Taylor, taking a moment to round back to this question, said, “Yes, that is absolutely being passed from the commanders on the ground to the Taliban commanders to ensure, things like yesterday, we understand what to look for. We understand what the threat is to try to prevent it.” So, the process of retaliation is underway, but it is still unknown how exactly that will take place.
Following this, Kirby took the stage to clarify how the U.S. currently stands against ISIS threats, saying, “I think the threat from ISIS is real. And nobody wants to see that threat grow. I cannot begin to speak for Taliban capabilities, or Taliban intent.”
As the Taliban’s intentions come into question, Kirby fell back on existing tensions, as a means of hoping for good motivations on their behalf. Kirby stated, “Obviously there’s significant animosity between these two groups, and they don’t share interests. But I’m not—It would be foolish for me to try to predict the degree to what operations the Taliban may conduct against ISIS K.”
“All I can tell you is the direction that this department has is to not allow the attacks on the homeland to emanate from Afghanistan again.” Kirby said, diverting from any speculations about ISIS-K’s influence on efforts done in conjunction with the Taliban.
When asked about ISIS-K attacks on Taliban checkpoints, Taylor denied knowledge of that happening at all. He did, however, confirm that evacuee information is being given to the Taliban.
Taylor stated, “Information is very important right now at the ground level to ensure that, as people approach checkpoints, that those Taliban checkpoint leaders have and understand who’s coming, what documentation they’re supposed to have, and go because that’s really important for us to ensure that people are not in areas and staying there for long periods of time.”
When asked for more details on the suicide bombing outside Abbey Gate, Maj. Gen. Taylor responded somewhat abstractedly. Taylor replied with: “Right now, what we know is there was shooters, I don’t know the exact number, but one with a suicide vest… just knowing the facts, the incredible devastation that happened there, I think we should just leave it there.”
Nearing the end of the conference, one reporter asked Press Sec. Kirby, “Should Americans expect more US casualties in the next few days?” To which Kirby said, “Obviously we don’t want to see any more casualties. That’s why we are monitoring the threat streams very closely and taking what we believe are the best possible steps to prevent another tragedy like this from happening.”
Specifics are desired by all of those affected by the suicide bombing, but it appears that anything beyond topical information will have to wait for now.