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Fox News Anchor Chris Wallace Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Grill About President Biden’s claim on Sunday Afghanistan crisis, Repeatedly called the Commander-in-Chief’s remarks “wrong.”
“The president said al-Qaeda is gone. It’s not gone,” Wallace said at one point. “The president said he had not heard any criticisms from his allies. There was a lot of criticism from his allies. Words are important, and words from the president are the most important.”
In a speech on Friday President Biden defended withdrawal US military activity from Afghanistan and efforts to withdraw thousands of Americans after the government fell into the Taliban.However Many Fact checker Also note Biden made some inaccurate or misleading allegations, including referring to al-Qaeda as “lost” from Afghanistan.
“What interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point when al-Qaeda has left?” Biden spoke from the White House’s East Room on Friday. “We went to Afghanistan for the explicit purpose of eliminating Afghanistan’s Alcaida and capturing Osama bin Laden, and we did.”
Al-Qaeda has declined significantly since the United States invaded Afghanistan 20 years ago, but terrorist group elements continue to exist in parts of the country.Wallace quoted UN Security Council June report It estimated that al-Qaeda supporters remained in 15 of 34 states in Afghanistan.Immediately after Biden commented, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters: “We know that al-Qaeda is in Afghanistan and is also ISIS, and we have been talking about it for quite some time.”
“What the president said wasn’t true,” Wallace told Blinken in an interview with Fox News Sunday.
Blinken responded by introducing Wallace to his first “successful” mission in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission and one purpose in mind,” he said. “And it was to deal with those who attacked us in 9/11, bring bin Laden we did 10 years ago to trial, reduce the ability of al-Qaeda to do the same again, and attack us. . From Afghanistan. “
Wallace intervened as follows: “Sir, the president said al-Qaeda is’lost’. Simple question: Did al-Qaeda leave Afghanistan?”
Blinken reiterated that al-Qaeda’s capabilities in Afghanistan were “significantly and significantly diminished,” urging Wallace to ask a third question as to whether the terrorist group was “lost.” Blinken replied that it was not completely gone, but argued that this was not Biden’s original purpose.
“Are there al-Qaeda members or elements in Afghanistan? Yes, but the president was referring to the ability to do what he did in 9/11, and that ability diminished very well.” He said.
Wallace then moved on Friday to what he labeled Biden’s “totally wrong” claim, saying “our credibility from allies around the world was unquestionable.”
Some senior allied government officials have sharply criticized how the United States handled its withdrawal from Afghanistan. Armin Laschet, a candidate to replace German Chancellor Angela Merkel, called the situation “the biggest blunder NATO has seen since its inception.”The chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the German parliament said Politico The crisis “has fundamentally damaged the political and moral credibility of the West.”And the chairman of the British Foreign Affairs Commission Tweet, “Afghanistan is the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suez …. In Kabul, we have failed our friends and ourselves.”
“Mr. Secretary, does the president not know what’s going on?” Wallace asked.
Blinken argued that the strong consensus from US allies was a gratitude for how the US dealt with the collapse of the government in Kabul.
“Chris, all I can tell you is what I’ve heard,” said the Secretary of State. “Again, this is a very emotional time for many allies and partners. It’s for me and for us, but I’ve heard this too. Freeing allies and partners from harm. We have heard all the deep gratitude and gratitude from our allies and partners for everything we have done to do so. “
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