Biden sold America the False Narrative that Al Qaeda was 'gone' from Afghanistan. Zawahiri's death proves he was dangerously wrong, writes terrorism analyst BILL ROGGIO
One year ago this month, President Biden told Americans that Al Qaeda was 'gone' from
Afghanistan.
On Monday, we learned that clearly was not the case.
'We went to Afghanistan for the express purpose of getting rid of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan as well as getting Osama bin Laden. And we did,' he told reporters on August 20, 2021, as American and allied forces hastily prepared to pull out of the country.
President Biden had set August 31st as the last day for US troops to leave Afghanistan after 20 years of war and the deadline had caught the world by surprise.
'Look, let's put this thing in perspective,' he insisted amid calls to delay the evacuation, 'What interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point, with al Qaeda gone?'
Days after those remarks, on August 26, 2021, a suicide bomb ripped through a crowd of soldiers and civilians at Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul.
By that point, the Afghan military had melted away and the Taliban had overrun the country.
Desperate people - American and Afghan - crowded outside the airport gates, as US Marines stood guard on its concrete walls.
Biden sold America on the false narrative that Al Qaeda was 'gone' from Afghanistan: BILL ROGGIO | Daily Mail Online
