Sec Blinken Does Not Know If Drone Killed Aid Worker or ISIS
Following the United States series of failures in Afghanistan, the Biden administration is now being scolded over their latest strike in the South Asian country that killed 10 civilians.
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United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in March 2021 (AFP)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken underwent Tuesday a series of hard questions posed by GOP Senator Rand Paul. The questions followed a deadly drone strike that killed 10 Afghan civilians, including 7 children.
Upon being asked one particular question by Paul, Blinken admitted before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he does not know whether a Biden administration drone strike killed an ISIS-K operative or an aid worker.
The State Secretary stood before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, United States policy on Afghanistan, and the future of the US regarding Afghanistan after a 20-year-long occupation of the latter by the former.
"The guy the Biden administration droned, was he an aid worker or an ISIS-K operative?" asked Senator Paul, addressing Blinken regarding the aforementioned drone strike after asking him about US aid to Afghanistan.
Blinken simply answered by saying he "can't speak to that," ‘assuring’ that the Biden administration is reviewing said strike, asserting his certainty that a full assessment will be forthcoming.
"You'd think you'd kind of know before you off someone with a predator drone," argued the Republican senator, expressing his disbelief that the target was not thoroughly probed ahead of strike.
Paul argued that "bombing the wrong people" would "create hundreds or thousands of new potential terrorists," telling Blinken that the administration should not conduct an investigation after a strike is carried out.
"If you killed an aid worker on accident ... do you think we're better off because of that?" the Kentucky lawmaker asked, concluding by saying this action does not send a ‘message of strength’ to the world.
Rand Paul grills Blinken on a drone strike in Afghanistan that reportedly mistakenly killed an aid worker and several civilians, including children pic.twitter.com/oqLQJmrJ6I
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 14, 2021
Paul was one of the main critics of how the Biden administration withdrew from Afghanistan, and the evacuations of US nationals and allies were carried out.
It is noteworthy that the United States carried out a very chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which saw hundreds upon hundreds flocking toward the airport, stampedes, and abandoned allies. There even was a scene that reminded the world of the United States withdrawal from Vietnam's Saigon, during which they air-lifted their staff off of the embassy's roof.
