Leah Barkoukis "The ISIS-K terrorist who carried out a suicide attack at the Kabul airport in August, which killed scores of Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, was released by the Taliban from the Bagram Air Base prison just days before the bombing, according to CNN reporting.
"The U.S. handed Bagram over to the Afghan military on July 1, but a little more than a month later, on Aug. 15, they surrendered it to the Taliban, who promptly released thousands of prisoners--the vast majority of whom are terrorists.
. . . " The Parwan prison at Bagram, along with the Pul-e-Charkhi prison near Kabul, housed several hundred members of ISIS-K, as well as thousands of other prisoners when the Taliban took control of both facilities hours before taking over the capital with barely a shot fired in mid-August, a regional counter-terrorism source told CNN at the time. The Taliban emptied out both prisons, releasing their own members who had been imprisoned but also members of ISIS-K, which is the terror group's affiliate in Afghanistan.
Eleven days later, on August 26, it was one of those prisoners who carried out the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate, killing the 13 US service members, including 11 Marines, one soldier and one sailor. […]
ISIS-K took credit for the attack and named the suicide bomber as Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri. Two US officials confirmed the identity of the attacker. FirstPost, an English-language news site based in India, was first to report that he had been released from the Bagram prison. (CNN)
Joe Biden’s Bungled Afghanistan Pullout Obliterates U.S. Counterterrorism Capabilities . . . "Inserting Special Operations troops into Afghanistan to carry out counter-terrorism missions will become increasingly difficult due to Biden’s poor decision.
"Groupthink won the day. Satisfying President Biden’s deadline to get out of Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of 9/11 without any consideration for security or the need to maintain stability seems to have been the only consideration. Biden refused to allow adequate troops to secure Bagram and to create a security perimeter in Kabul."
And thanks to the Taliban’s capture of U.S. databases it likely knows who provided intelligence to the U.S. military and can now kill them. Signals intelligence isn’t a substitute for boots on the ground or human intelligence.
Giving Up Bagram Might Have Been A Terrible Mistake "Might have"?
...At the time, the Joe Biden administration stated that it was confident that the Afghan forces had what it takes to defend Afghanistan. The Bagram Air Base Prison was under the control of Afghan authority as it had been for years.
..."There are still many unanswered questions, but one thing is clear; the loss of lives on August 26 could have been avoided."...
Department of the Indefensible: Who Decided to Close Bagram Air Base and Why? . . . "Bagram Air Base had already been abandoned. That decision had been made weeks, if not months, before Afghanistan’s fall. It formally went dark in the dead of night, with no warning given to our allies, on July 5, 2021. Abandoning Bagram meant ending intelligence and air support for the Afghan military, which proved to be consequential as the Taliban routed the military that the United States had spent 20 years building up.
"During the briefing on August 18, a reporter asked Austin about the loss of U.S. aircraft to the Taliban, and Milley about that decision to close Bagram. Austin appeared to be stumped by the question but then proceeded to answer. Milley interrupted and then after Austin finished, defended the decision to close Bagram."...
Additionally, Biden himself is of questionable capacity, is an extremely weak and indecisive man, and has a track record going back decades for getting everything wrong.
Thanks, Joe! Taliban Gives Tajik Jihadis U.S.-Made Weaponry and Vehicles
HORRENDOUS: U.S. General Allegedly Abandoned Allies in Afghanistan for Souvenirs
