‘THE STRIKE WAS A TRAGIC MISTAKE’: The admission Friday that the Aug. 29 U.S. drone strike in Kabul intended to thwart an ISIS-K attack instead killed innocent aid worker Zamarai Ahmadi and nine members of his family has sparked a Pentagon review, along with renewed debate about the efficacy of conducting counterterrorist strikes from “over the horizon.”
“Our investigation now concludes that the strike was a tragic mistake,” said U.S. Central Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie at a Pentagon briefing. “This strike was taken in the earnest belief that it would prevent an imminent threat to our forces and the evacuees at the airport. But it was a mistake, and I offer my sincere apology. As the combatant commander, I am fully responsible for this strike and its tragic outcome.”
AUSTIN WANTS ANSWERS: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin immediately ordered a “thorough review” of the CENTCOM investigation and offered his “deepest condolences” to surviving family members.
“We now know that there was no connection between Mr. Ahmadi and ISIS-Khorasan, that his activities on that day were completely harmless and not at all related to the imminent threat we believed we faced,” Austin said in a statement.
“I have asked for this review to consider the degree to which the investigation considered all available context and information, the degree to which accountability measures need be taken and at what level, and the degree to which strike authorities, procedures and processes need to be altered in the future,” Austin said.
STRATEGY UNDER FIRE: Administration critics were quick to cite the botched strike as evidence that the Biden strategy of conducting operations against terrorists in Afghanistan from afar was flawed. “The administration claimed their ‘over-the-horizon capacity’ would work,” said Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. “Instead, we have another failure with deadly consequences.”
“It’s very important, if you’re going to do these kinds of shots accurately, to have intelligence on the ground to confirm the target that you’re after,” said former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on CNN. “Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here, and they paid the price. I hope they learned the lessons of what it means to fire on these targets and to be damn sure you know what you’re firing at.”
‘NOT A RUSHED STRIKE’: In laying out the timeline for the Aug 29 strike, McKenzie insisted that despite the fear that an attack on the Kabul airport was imminent, the U.S. military was not trigger happy.
“I will stress this was not a rushed strike,” McKenzie said, citing more than 60 different pieces of intelligence that warned ISIS-K would utilize a white Toyota Corolla to attack the airport. Using drones, the U.S. watched as a white Toyota moved from a known ISIS-K location ever closer to the airport.
“The strike cell deliberately followed and observed this vehicle and its occupants for eight hours while cross checking what they were seeing with all available intelligence to develop a reasonable certainty of the imminent threat that this vehicle posed to our forces,” McKenzie said. The occupants of the car were seen loading “supplies” into the car, which turned out to be jugs of water, not explosives.
‘EXTREME TIME PRESSURE’: McKenzie said because of all the intelligence warning of imminent attack, the unnamed U.S. commander in charge was under “extreme time pressure” to act, which should not be the case in future “over-the-horizon” operations.
“This was a self-defense strike taken under self-defense rules and engagement based on an imminent threat to attack us,” McKenzie said. “That is not the way we would strike in an [over-the-horizon] mission going into Afghanistan against ISIS-K targets.”
“It’ll be different, done under different rules of engagement, and we’ll have a lot more opportunity probably than we had under this extreme time pressure to take a look at the target.”
WHO GAVE THE ORDER? McKenzie did not identify the individual who made the call to launch the Hellfire missile into the car when it was just a few kilometers from the airport, identifying the officer only as the “over-the-horizon strike cell commander who’s forward in the theater.”
“An investigation that will determine exactly what kind of information they had. An investigation that will determine whether or not they were warned that they might have the wrong targets that they’re firing at. An investigation that would determine who gave the final order to fire,” said Panetta on CNN. “There is somebody somewhere that has the ultimate responsibility to say fire. And we have to ask that individual why the order was given, in light of the facts that are coming out.”
GENERAL TRIES TO DISTANCE BOTCHED KABUL AIRSTRIKE FROM ‘OVER-THE-HORIZON’ STRATEGY
Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Victor I. Nava. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE
Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!
HAPPENING TODAY: World Leaders are gathering in New York for the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is already in New York, and President Joe Biden leaves Washington this afternoon in advance of his address to the assembly tomorrow.
In an interview with the Associated Press Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a potential new Cold War between the U.S. and China and implored the two countries to repair their “completely dysfunctional” relationship.
“We need to re-establish a functional relationship between the two powers,” Guterres said, “Unfortunately, today we only have confrontation.”
ADAM SMITH DISPUTES WOODWARD BOOK: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith says an account in the Bob Woodward and Robert Costa book Peril about what he heard on a flight home to Seattle after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol is not accurate.
According to the book, which comes out tomorrow, Smith is surrounded by “Trump fans. People talking like they were part of the riot, bummed that they failed.”
“Ugly talk about conspiracies to steal the election filled the plane. So did chatter about QAnon. And several passengers also mentioned 6MWE,” the book says. “Smith did not know what they were talking about. He was horrified to learn, listening as some passengers explained and discussed openly that it meant ‘6 million weren’t enough,’ a reference to the 6 million Jews exterminated in Nazi concentration camps.”
Didn’t happen, Smith told CNN’s Brian Stelter yesterday. “I did not hear anything from the people on the plane about racism or anti-Semitism. What I heard was a feeling that they had lost their country and they had to take it back by any means necessary,” Smith said. “But the racism and anti-Semitism was stuff that I had seen on January — that we all had seen on January 6th, not that I heard on the plane.”
“When I spoke to Mr. Woodward, we spoke about what I heard on the plane. We also spoke about what I saw and heard on January 6th at the Capitol,” Smith said. “And in that conversation, I think Mr. Woodward conflated the two.”
SO, IS THE MILLEY QUOTE RIGHT? Mistakes in the book also raise questions about exactly what Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said in an Oct. 30 call to his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng.
While everyone agrees it’s perfectly appropriate for the chairman to call adversaries to offer reassurance to prevent a miscalculation, this quote attributed to Milley by Woodward and Costa appeared to cross the line: “General Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise.”
“I’m hopeful that actually that part of it isn’t true,” said former Joint Chiefs Chairman retired Adm. Mike Mullen on ABC, who otherwise defended Milley.
“Having the conversation is really critical. What’s a little bit alarming to me, though, is that the Chinese would read the situation, as they did, as really chaotic and as if we were going to possibly strike,” Mullen said. “And it speaks to the need to have these open communications so that we don’t miscalculate.”
WALTZ: DECLARE TALIBAN A TERRORIST GROUP: Florida Rep. Mike Waltz — a former Green Beret who says during his time in Afghanistan he personally tried to kill Siraj Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, who was on the FBI’s global terrorist list — says it’s time for the U.S. to declare the Taliban a foreign terrorist organization, which would prevent any American government official from dealing with them.
“This is a terrorist superstate … that now has an army, an air force, is on its way to having a central bank if Biden unfreezes its billions and assets that are around the world, which Blinken keeps hinting that they would be willing to do to get our people out that they’ve left behind as hostage,” Waltz said on Fox Saturday.
“Siraj Haqqani. He is individually listed as a foreign terrorist. But we need the entire organization listed so that these jokers around Biden can’t continue to appease them and to capitulate to them.” Waltz said. “Biden and Blinken are heading down this slippery slope, and they’ve got their foot on the gas for recognizing this terrorist government.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Afghan airstrike killed aid worker and his family, not ISIS-K terrorist, military investigation finds
Washington Examiner: General tries to distance botched Kabul airstrike from ‘over-the-horizon’ strategy
Washington Examiner: Taliban order Kabul women to exit workforce
Washington Examiner: France recalls ambassador from Washington ‘without delay’ as Macron rages at Biden
Washington Examiner: US closes Del Rio border crossing as thousands of migrants illegally cross
Washington Examiner: Navy begins deep-sea recovery mission for helicopter wreckage
Washington Examiner: Much-hyped ‘Justice for J6’ Capitol rally to support Jan. 6 prisoners a dud
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Why the US should offer to buy France’s submarines for Vietnam
Washington Post: Biden Seeks Call With France’s Macron To Calm The Waters
Bloomberg: General Dynamics Says U.S. To Begin Study On Submarine Pact
New York Times: The Scientist and the A.I.-Assisted, Remote-Control Killing Machine
National Interest: History Made: Marine Corps Develops Missile-Firing Robot
Agence France Presse: North Korea Says U.S. Submarine Deal And Asia-Pacific Alliance Could Trigger ‘Nuclear Arms Race’
The Hill: Biden falters in pledge to strengthen US alliances
Washington Post: Syrian detention camp rocked by dozens of killings blamed on Islamic State women
Washington Post: After 20 years of waging religious guerrilla warfare, Taliban fighters in Kabul say they miss the battle
Talk News Media: The “righteous” civilian-killing drone attack triggered by a suspicious white Toyota Corolla, which make up 90 percent of the cars in Kabul
Military.com: Navy Secretary Says All COVID-19 Sailor and Marine Deaths During His Tenure Have Been Unvaccinated
Military Times: A Plan For Rooting Out Extremism In The Military: Report
Stars and Stripes: Navy’s Monthly Taiwan Strait Transits Continue With Guided-Missile Destroyer USS Barry
New York Times: Britain Returns To Global Stage As Broker In U.S.-Australia Deal
Air Force Magazine: Lockheed Must Give Up Data to Get Shot at Long-Term F-35 Maintenance Contract
Defense News: British, Italian F-35s to get new missile types
New York Times: Military Jet Crashes In Texas Backyard, Injuring 2 Pilots
Marine Corps Times: 7-Hour Iraq Firefight Sees 4 Marine Raiders Receive Bronze Stars With ‘V’
CNN: Biden Administration Has Made Little Progress Towards Goal Of Closing Notorious Guantanamo Bay Prison
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Why the US should offer to buy France’s submarines for Vietnam
Washington Post: Alexander Vindman: Milley had another choice — to resign
Calendar
MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 20
9 a.m. National Harbor, Maryland — Air Force Association “2021 Air, Space & Cyber Conference,” with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall; Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., chief of staff of the Air Force, Malcolm Gladwell, author The Bomber Mafia, and many others. Full agenda at https://www.afa.org/events/airspacecyber2021/agenda
9 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “Russia’s parliamentary elections, explained,” with Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition politician; Tatiana Usmanova, campaign manager for Duma candidate Andrei Pivovarov; Maria Snegovaya, postdoctoral fellow in political science at Virginia Tech University; and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
9:45 a.m. — Hudson Institute virtual event: “Investigating COVID-19 and the China Cover-up,” with Kevin Brock, senior fellow, Center For Financial Stability; Diane Cutler, detailee, House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Tom Dinanno, adjunct fellow, Hudson Institute; David Asher, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; and John Walters, president and CEO, Hudson Institute. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-event-investigating-covid-19
12 p.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual discussion: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal: Reflections 10 Years Later,” with former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, then-general counsel for the Defense Department; former Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla.; Gordon Tanner, former general counsel for the Department of the Air Force; former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Military Personnel Policy Virginia Penrod; former Assistant Defense Secretary for Public Affairs Douglas Wilson; and Aubrey Sarvis, former executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network https://www.cnas.org/events/special-event
1 p.m. — Middle East Forum virtual discussion: “Differences in Middle East policy between the Trump and Biden administrations,” with former Vice President Mike Pence; and MEF President Daniel Pipes. RSVP: [email protected]
5 p.m. — House Foreign Affairs Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation Subcommittee briefing on “Biological Security Threats.” https://www.youtube.com/channel
TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 21
8:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual conference on “The Nuclear Policy Trilemma: Balancing Nuclear Modernization, Alliance Management and Effective Arms Control in a Competitive Security Environment,” with Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. https://www.csis.org/events/nuclear-policy-trilemma
8:30 a.m. National Harbor, Maryland — Air Force Association “2021 Air, Space & Cyber Conference,” with Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, chief of space operations; Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command; and many others. Full agenda at https://www.afa.org/events/airspacecyber2021/agenda
TBA New York — President Joe Biden addresses the United Nations General Assembly in person. https://media.un.org/en/webtv/
9:30 a.m. 342 Dirksen — Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee annual hearing: “Examining Threats to Homeland Security,” with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; FBI Director Christopher Wray; and National Counterterrorism Center Director Christine Abizaid. https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/threats
9:30 a.m. — German Marshall Fund of the United States virtual discussion: “Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Future: What’s Next?” with former Maidan Shahr, Afghanistan Mayor Zarifa Ghafari, Afghan human rights activist; Magdalena Kirchner, country director Afghanistan at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung; Jacob Kurtzer, director and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Fulya Memisoglu, associate professor at the Yildiz Technical University Department of Political Science and International Relations. https://www.gmfus.org/event/afghanistans-humanitarian-future-whats-next
12 p.m. — Hudson Institute Virtual discussion: “Israel After the Abraham Accords: Changing Regional Dynamics,” with former Israeli Deputy Ambassador to Egypt Ruth Wasserman Lande, co-chair of the Knesset Abraham Accords Caucus; Former Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis, co-chair of the Knesset Abraham Accords Caucus; and Josh Block, adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute https://www.hudson.org/events/2013-virtual-event
1 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “The Future of the French Navy,” with Adm. Pierre Vandier, chief of the naval staff for Marine Nationale; and Seth Jones, senior vice president and director of the CSIS International Security Program. http://www.csis.org
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 22
8:30 a.m. National Harbor, Maryland — Air Force Association “2021 Air, Space & Cyber Conference,” with Gen. John. Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. Tod Wolters, commander, U.S. European Command, and Supreme Allied Commander Europe; Gen. Mark Kelly, commander, Air Combat Command; and many others. Full agenda at https://www.afa.org/events/airspacecyber2021/agenda
8:45 a.m. National Harbor Marina, Sunset Room — Defense Strategies Group “Critical Infrastructure Security Summit,” with David Frederick, executive director of the U.S. Cyber Command; and David Mussington, executive assistant director for infrastructure security at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. https://infrastructure.dsigroup.org/
9 a.m. — Henry L. Stimson Center virtual discussion: “ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the Return of Geopolitics to the Indo-Pacific,” with Alice Ba, professor in the University of Delaware’s Department of Political Science and International Relations; Kavi Chongkittavorn, senior fellow in Chulalongkorn University’s Institute of Security and International Studies; Amitav Acharya, UNESCo chair in transnational challenges and governance, and professor in American University’s School of International Service; and William Wise, nonresident fellow and chair of the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia Forum https://stimsoncenter.zoom.us/webinar/register
9 a.m. — German Marshall Fund of the United States virtual discussion: “Building a Stronger U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership,” with Olena Tregub, secretary general of the Independent Defense Anti-Corruption Committee; Mykhailo Zhernakov, head of the board at the DeJure Foundation; Kostyantyn Krynytskyi, head of the Center for Environmental Initiatives Ecoaction’s Energy Department; Igor Burakovsky, head of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting; Olena Prokopenko, GMFUS visiting democracy initiatives fellow; and Jonathan Katz, GMFUS senior fellow. https://www.gmfus.org/event
9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual conference: “The Nuclear Policy Trilemma: Balancing Nuclear Modernization, Alliance Management and Effective Arms Control in a Competitive Security Environment,” with former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller, lecturer at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. https://www.csis.org/events/nuclear-policy-trilemma
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 23
10 a.m. — Arms Control Association and the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition virtual discussion: “U.S. Chemical Weapons Stockpile Elimination: Progress Update,” with Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Chemical and Biological Defense Brandi Vann; Irene Komelly, chair of the Colorado Citizens’ Advisory Commission; and Paul Walker, coordinator at CWC https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
12 p.m. — Washington Post Live virtual book discussion on Peril, with co-authors Bob Woodward, Washington Post associate editor; and Robert Costa, Washington Post national political reporter. https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
1:30 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group and Aerospace Security Project virtual event “Investing Intelligently in Remotely Crewed Systems: Leveraging Capability for Future Conflict,” with Will Roper, former assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics; Rebecca Grant, president, IRIS Independent Research; Todd Harrison, senior fellow, CSIS International Security Program; and Rose Butchart, associate fellow, Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group. https://www.csis.org/events/investing-intelligently-remotely-crewed-systems
2 p.m. — Middle East Institute virtual discussion: “Iran Facing Outward: Changing Politics, Military Doctrine, and Border Issues,” with former Afghan Interior Minister Ali Jalali, professor at National Defense University; Manochehr Dorraj, professor of political science at Texas Christian University; Mahmood Monshipouri, professor of international relations at San Francisco State University; and Fatemeh Aman, nonresident scholar at MEI https://www.mei.edu/events/iran-facing-outward
FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 24
TBA — President Joe Biden meets with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi.
TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 28
TBA — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “Testimony on U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan,” with Lloyd Austin, secretary of defense; Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander, U.S. Central Command. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I am here today to set the record straight and acknowledge our mistakes. I will end my remarks with the same note of sincere and profound condolences for the family and friends of those who died in this tragic strike.”
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of the U.S. Central Command, apologizing for a U.S. drone strike that mistakenly killed 10 innocent Afghan civilians in Kabul.
