U.S. defense officials have changed their tune and are now saying it was just a single bomb and not a “complex” attack that killed 13 Marines during the chaotic evacuation at Kabul International Airport last year:
A single bomb w/ “disturbing lethality” killed 13 U.S. troops and more than 170 Afghans near the culmination of the U.S. evacuation from Kabul international airport, a U.S. military investigation has found, in contradiction to initial statements by senior U.S. defense officials.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2022
And this is why journos need to question everything team Biden is saying about the attack on an ISIS leader this week that resulted in a number of civilian casualties:
Senior officials are now briefing the findings of the investigation. At top, Gen. Frank McKenzie, chief of U.S. Central Command, says the investigation found that some wounds looked like bullet holes, prompting part of the confusion that the airport was hit with a complex attack.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2022
We get that things are confusing right after an incident, but that’s not what defense officials said at the time:
The investigation was led by Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark, U.S. Army Central Command. Slides released to the media include this: pic.twitter.com/lDZxiwm8t7
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2022
“U.S. officials initially thought they were looking at a complex attack, with one or two explosions followed by gunmen opening fire. Not the case, U.S. officials say”:
Recommended
U.S. officials initially thought they were looking at a complex attack, with one or two explosions followed by gunmen opening fire. Not the case, U.S. officials say.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2022
The briefing provided a detailed breakdown of the location of the killed and wounded:
This slide shows the rough location of where U.S. troops who were killed and wounded were when the explosion happened. Those killed are in blue. Those in yellow were wounded. pic.twitter.com/A3VgkIUdyx
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2022
According to this WaPo reporter, “officials are speaking with candor in this briefing”:
U.S. defense officials are speaking with candor in t his briefing.
The crowd was "large" and "desperate," requiring the Marines to be where they were.
The Taliban was "less and less cooperative" as the evacuation operation continued.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2022
In August? Not so much:
It should be noted: We got varying levels of this candor in August. Some officials were. Some very much were not.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2022
And there were some new details in the briefing:
New detail: Marine survivors at Abbey Gate were exposed to CS gas, after ball bearings from the explosion penetrated canisters worn on their body armor.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2022
But there’s still a ways to go on full transparency:
https://twitter.com/DanLamothe/status/1489667837622956035
Full report here:
Full story with @ahauslohner:https://t.co/bVI9FI6Qqe
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) February 4, 2022
***
Related:
Syria says 6 children and 4 women were killed during a 'successful' Special Forces mission targeting an ISIS leader 'very few people anywhere know much about' https://t.co/1ZDIwPaz0S
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 3, 2022