Following the suicide bombing attack at the Kabul airport this week, which claimed the lives of many bystanders, including 13 U.S. service members, U.S. forces carried out an airstrike against ISIS-K, the ISIS affiliate behind the operation. These events have unfolded amid the final stages of the withdrawal of the U.S. military presence from the country, but President Joe Biden has previously noted that the U.S. could still conduct isolated operations without that full-scale, continuous military presence in place. More specifically, Biden also pledged retaliation for the Kabul airport attack. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) publicly spoke in support of Biden for following through on that pledge.
As Kinzinger put it:
‘The strike on ISIS-K is the start of payback. Congratulations to our military and good call from Pres. Biden. Nothing will recover our loss of men, but it cannot go unanswered.’
The strike on ISIS-K is the start of payback. Congratulations to our military and good call from Pres. Biden. Nothing will recover our loss of men, but it cannot go unanswered.
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) August 28, 2021
Kinzinger has been critical of both the Biden and Trump administrations for the withdrawal from Afghanistan, but he’s also been one of the few Republicans in Congress who’ve proven themselves to be willing to go against the party line at all. After the initial attack at the Kabul airport, Biden spoke publicly about the tragedy, poignantly commenting as follows:
‘The American service members who gave their lives were heroes. Heroes who have been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others. We have a continuing obligation — a sacred obligation — to their families that will last forever.’
The American service members who gave their lives were heroes. Heroes who have been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others. We have a continuing obligation — a sacred obligation — to their families that will last forever.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 26, 2021
The efforts to remove the U.S. military presence from Afghanistan have coincided with a sweeping operation to evacuate people from the country, which was taken over by the Taliban as U.S. forces withdrew. Now, well over 100,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan. As a statement from the White House Twitter account on early Saturday morning put it: “Since August 14, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 111,900 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 117,500 people.” These remarkable numbers of evacuations seriously undercut the claims from certain prominent Republicans that the Biden administration has completely bungled the departure of the U.S. military presence from Afghanistan. Is evacuating or helping facilitate the evacuation of over 117,000 people in a one-month period really the mark of a failing administration? Of course, it is not.
Since August 14, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 111,900 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 117,500 people.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 28, 2021
