Brian Kilmeade gives Biden some credit for death of al-Zawahiri, then puts it in perspective

(Video: Fox News)

There’s plenty to be said about the convenient timing of the United States taking out Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is being billed as the successor to Osama bin Laden in leading al-Qaeda.

President Joe Biden could certainly use the distraction given his exceptionally low approval numbers and 40-year high inflation, both of which are proving to be an unneeded drag on the Democratic Party in the midterm elections, where the party was already expecting to see substantial losses.

But giving Biden credit where credit is due — after all, who doesn’t cheer the elimination of al-Qaeda terrorist leaders? Fox News host Brian Kilmeade is certainly willing to give ol’ Joe a pat on the back, BUT he is just as quick to note that the death of one man does not make America any safer.

“Listen, give Joe Biden credit,” Kilmeade said on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday. “He green-lighted this hit. It took him four months, but he green-lighted this hit, and they executed. Give the CIA credit, and the president, in this case, says over the horizon it was effective. I’ve got it.”

“But in that case, if you just sent one or two drones, one drone and 2 hellfire missiles and you get one guy, there’s no rational belief to think that he’s the only al-Qaeda there,” he continued. “Where are the other lieutenants and where are they located and how could you possibly say we are safer without any troops on the ground?”

Not lost is the fact that al-Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike near Kabul, Afghanistan, the same Central Asian country that Biden essentially abandoned to the Taliban. Which is to say that Afghanistan has once again become a safe haven for the Islamic terrorist organization as a result of the Biden-led U.S. pullout.

Co-host Lawrence Jones noted that President Biden has never admitted to the “botched” Afghanistan withdrawal, as Kilmeade pointed out that al-Qaeda is now present in 15 Afghan providences.

After some discussion about who violated the US–Taliban deal, known as the Doha Agreement, Kilmeade ran a clip of Biden defending the manner in which the U.S. left while claiming that al-Qaeda was no longer in Afghanistan.

“Look, let’s put this thing in perspective here. What interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point with al-Qaeda gone?” Biden said at the White House in August 2021. “We went to Afghanistan for the express purpose of getting rid of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, as well as — as well as getting Osama bin Laden.  And we did.”

“Imagine — just imagine if that attack — if bin Laden had decided, with al-Qaeda, to launch an attack from Yemen. Would we ever have gone to Afghanistan?” the president continued. “Would there ever be any reason we’d be in Afghanistan — controlled by the Taliban? What is the national interest of the United States in that circumstance?  We went and did the mission.”

Co-host Ainsley Earhardt countered to say of the president, “Clearly, he’s wrong.”

She cited the same UN report Kilmeade read from when he said al-Qaeda was in 15 Afghanistan providences, adding: “The inspector general reports said the Taliban maintain a relationship with al-Qaeda and provides safe havens — like they did in this case in Afghanistan — for the terrorist group.”

As the Fox News morning crew went on to explore, the question remains why was al-Zawahiri so close to Kabul and the Taliban leadership when he was killed on that balcony.

“This doesn’t seem like a posture — someone just out there drinking coffee on the balcony — that he’s afraid of the United States,” Jones noted, as the segment came to an end.

Tom Tillison

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