Morning Wire - Friday | August 27, 2021

Episode Date: August 27, 2021

Several Americans, including U.S. soldiers, were killed in terror attacks in Kabul, and President Biden addresses the nation. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Several Americans, including U.S. soldiers, were killed in suicide bombings in Afghanistan on Thursday. Attacks outside the Kabul airport and at a hotel in the city have left dozens dead. What do we know so far about the terror attacks and how is it affecting the ongoing evacuation effort? I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, August 27th, and this is Morning Wire. In a national address Thursday, President Biden responded to the fatal attacks in Kabul. I bear responsibility for fundamentally all this happened of late. We'll look at the president's remarks and what it means for the U.S. handling of Afghanistan going forward. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.

Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This show is brought to you by Legacy Box. With Legacy Box, you can revisit cherished moments from your family's past by having the footage from videotapes, film reels, slides, and other aging formats digitally preserved on a thumb drive, DVD, or the cloud. Visit legacybox.com slash keep to take advantage of this limited time offer of 40% off. That's legacybox.com slash keep to save 40%. On Thursday, a series of explosions rocked Afghanistan's capital as the United States

continued its frenzied evacuation from the country, now under Taliban control. Here with the details is Daily Wires Ian Howarth. So, Ian, what do we know so far? Well, the explosions took place on Thursday right before sunset in Kabul, and were reportedly carried out by suicide bombers. Right now, the death toll stands at more than 60 people, with over 140 people wounded. Among those tragically killed were at least 13 U.S. service members, with at least 15 more injured. And these are the numbers we have as we speak, but they're expected to increase as more information comes out. During a Pentagon briefing,

US Marine Corps General McKenzie gave an update of the situation, and noted that ISIS terrorists, were thought to have carried out the attacks. It's a hard day today. As you know, two suicide bombers assessed to have been ISIS fighters, detonated in the vicinity of the Abbey Gate at Hamad Karzai International Airport, and in the vicinity of the Barron Hotel, which is immediately adjacent. The attack on the Abbey Gate was followed by a number of ISIS gunmen who opened fire on civilians and military forces.

Abbey Gate in the Barron Hotel? Yeah, at the moment, reports say the first bomb was detonated outside of Kabul Airport, where people attempting to flee the country of being gathering in their thousands. The attack itself took place outside Abbey Gate, one of the main entryways into the airport, and so people were both tightly packed and exposed. And the second attack took place outside Barron Hotel, which is located close to the airport, where Americans had reportedly been gathered throughout the week. So what do we know about the victims?

Initial report said most of the victims were Afghani citizens, including women and children. But the Pentagon has confirmed that at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed. The American casualties were believed to be the most U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan in one single incident since August 2011, and the first U.S. military combat casualties in the country since February 2020. There were actually several reports that a terrorist attack was imminent, and the Marines posted at Abbey Gate were warned the day before that their position was one of the likely targets. But in a feat of unbelievable bravery, they continued to hold their positions anyway, helping process those who were desperate to flee the

country. So there were warnings ahead of time about the attack. Tell us about that. Well, experts have been warning of the potential for attack throughout the withdrawal, but on Thursday morning, they began warning specifically of a looming attack. The acting U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said early on Thursday that an attack was imminent, and the British Armed Forces Minister warned of a very credible threat to the airport. Both countries responded by urging people to leave the area surrounding the airport, but there were still large crowds gathered when the bombs went off. So we don't know how officials were tipped off that this was coming, but they were. Unfortunately, it was too late for many people on the ground.

Do we know any more details about how the terrorists carried this out? Well, we'll hopefully learn more in the coming days, but many are pointing out that the U.S. government, under President Biden, left the Taliban responsible for controlling the flow of people towards the airport. So it's probable that those responsible made it through a Taliban checkpoint before carrying out these attacks. and now it's a matter of whether they did so with the support of the Taliban or not. But let's also understand this in the broader context of the situation

which many are saying is only unfolding because of the Biden administration's policies. Just one example involves a report that the U.S. provided the Taliban with a list of U.S. and Afghan personnel who should be allowed to enter the outer perimeter of the airport. But at least according to one defense official, these names are now being used as a kill list by the Taliban. A kill list. So what's next? The evacuations are going to continue, if they can, but some countries such as Canada

have already been forced to wrap up their evacuation efforts, with some left behind. There are even reports that the Kabul airport gates are being welded shut. Right now, people will be looking to President Joe Biden to explain the U.S. response to these terrorist attacks, especially given that he promised that the U.S. would respond with devastating force if there was an attack during the evacuation. We made clear to the Taliban that any of the Taliban that any of the U.S. attack, any attack on our forces or disruption of our operations of the airport will be met with swift and forceful response.

Truly terrible news out of Afghanistan right now. Ian, thanks for the update. Daily wires, Ian Howarth. Up next, President Biden's response to the fatal attacks. According to a survey, over two-thirds of Americans are planning to travel this summer. This means that airlines, restaurants, and more have been ramping up their high-endarmes. Who do they turn to, ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter's technology finds qualified candidates for your job,

and you can easily invite your top choices to apply. And right now, you can try ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash wire. President Biden spoke to the nation on Thursday about the terror attacks in Afghanistan. The attacks have killed at least 13 American service members, 60 Afghans, and wounded dozens more. Here to tell us about the president's remarks is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond. Charlotte, what did the president say? Well, he said that despite the attack at the Kabul airport and the killing of U.S. soldiers,

the U.S. is going to continue with its mission of evacuation. In line with Democratic Party messaging on the matter, President Biden framed the evacuation mission as historic, celebrating the numbers evacuated in recent weeks. They're a part of an airlift, an evacuation effort unlike any scene in history, with more than 100,000 American citizens, American partners, Afghans who helped us, and others taking the safety in the last 11 days. He then said that the U.S. is going to continue on its course of action.

Here's what you need to know. These ISIS terrorists will not win. We will rescue the Americans in there. we will get our Afghan allies. And our mission will go on. America will not be intimidated. And I have the utmost confidence in our brave service members who continue to execute this mission with courage and honor

to save lives and get Americans, our partners, our Afghan allies, out of Afghanistan. That being said, when questioned on whether this goal was realistic, given recent events, President Biden made the argument that he didn't need to necessarily trust the Taliban. since he believed their own self-interest aligns with the interests of the U.S. And so there's a lot of reasons why they have reached out,

as to us but to others, as to why it would be continued in their interest to get more of the personnel we want to get out. He added that he is going to go after the people who called for and coordinated Thursday's terror attacks, but he didn't specify what that would look like or when it would take place. We will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place we choose in the moment of our choosing.

President Biden said that he would support additional force if requested, but gave no further details on what this force would involve. He also noted that all his military leaders subscribed to the mission as designed. I've instructed the military. Whatever they need, if they need additional force, I will grant it. And the last question was unusually given. to Fox News's Peter Ducey. Ducey asked President Biden if he bears any responsibility for the way things have unfolded

in the last few weeks. The president responded by saying that he did bear responsibility, but also placed blame at the feet of his predecessor. Do you bear any responsibility for the way that things have unfolded in the last two weeks? I bear responsibility for fundamentally all this happened of late. But here's the deal. You know, I wish you one day say these. things, you know as well as I do that the former president made a deal with the Taliban.

President Biden concluded his speech by asking the journalists in the room whether they believe the U.S. would have been involved in Afghanistan if the 9-11 attacks were launched from Yemen instead of Afghanistan. If Osama bin Laden as well as al-Qaeda had chosen to launch an attack when they left Saudi Arabia out of Yemen, would we have ever gone to Afghanistan? Even though the Taliban completely controlled Afghanistan, it's a time. Would we have ever gone?

I know it's not fair to ask you questions. It's rhetorical. But raise your hand if you think we should have gone. Finally, President Biden claimed that the objective in Afghanistan had been achieved and that there are greater threats, elsewhere. Our interest in going was to prevent al-Qaeda from re-emerging, first to get bin Laden, wipe out al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, prevent that from happening again. But of course, al-Qaeda and ISIS have returned to Afghanistan and appear to be gaining strength.

Charlotte, thanks for reporting. Thank you. Daily Wires, Charlotte Pence Bond. Those are our big stories for the day. If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.

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