French President Macron Rewards Terrorism, Whips Up Slaughter - Guy Millière

 

by Guy Millière

As a direct result of Article 80, the UN cannot transfer these rights over any part of Palestine... to any non-Jewish entity." -- Howard Grief, Esq., Algemeiner, September 22, 2011. 

• So, Macron actually regards these views -- approving the October 7, 2023 massacre of Jews and continuing terrorism to displace Israel -- as "legitimate aspirations"? Good to know.

• Macron's calls for an immediate ceasefire could save Hamas from destruction -- exactly what Hamas and Qatar want.

• France, the UK, Canada and Australia have to see that the terrorist state they are about to recognize has no borders, no internationally recognized territory, and meets no criteria of any kind as required in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933) for a state to be recognized.

• "Article 80 of the UN Charter... preserves intact all the rights granted to Jews under the Mandate for Palestine, even after the Mandate's expiry on May 14-15, 1948.... As a direct result of Article 80, the UN cannot transfer these rights over any part of Palestine... to any non-Jewish entity." -- Howard Grief, Esq., Algemeiner, September 22, 2011.

• France, the UK, Canada and Australia also realize that Israel cannot stop the war without the return of all the hostages. What would they do if their citizens were held hostage? Or are they already?

• If France, the UK, Canada and Australia are so committed to the creation of a Palestinian State, surely they will be happy to donate some of their plentiful land for it.

• [A]pproximately 1,000 trucks were blocked for days because the United Nations refused to distribute the aid, leaving it to rot in the sun, even after Israel offered the UN military protection.

• In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The ICC accused them -- not Hamas which stole most of the food -- of crimes against humanity.

• Hamas is an organization with straightforwardly unhidden genocidal goals:....

• This continual demonization of Israel has sadly led to an increased hatred of Israel, a tiny country that, ironically, is fighting to protect the very countries defaming it. A thank you would be nice.

• What is at stake now is not only Israel's survival but the need for democracies to understand the central danger confronting them, and finally to start combatting it.

• During the Second World War, all those grateful for the hard-won freedoms of the democratic world saw that the only way out was not compromise and submission, but the full destruction of the Third Reich -- not giving it a "state."

On July 24, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he will officially recognize a "Palestinian State," and publicized a letter he sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, praising his "courageous commitments". Since the creation of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, Abbas has enthusiastically backed anti-Israeli terrorism; supported the erasure of Israel; and has a lavish, multi-billion dollar "pay-to-slay" program that funds the murder of Jews. Pictured: Macron meets with Abbas during the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)

July 24, 2025: French President Emmanuel Macron announces that he will officially recognize a "Palestinian State." He publicizes a letter he sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and praises his "courageous commitments". In it, Macron emphasizes his desire to "fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people" and that "We must immediately implement a ceasefire, release all hostages and provide massive humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,"⁠ Macron reportedly announced. He did not, however make recognizing a fictitious Palestinian state conditioned on any of that.

"Peace is possible," he added, along with the notion that "Building a Palestinian state and ensuring its viability would 'contribute to the security of all in the Middle East."'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replied that the decision "rewards terror" and would create " a launch pad to annihilate Israel ."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that Macron's decision is "a slap in the face to the victims of October 7."

Hamas, for its part, immediately congratulated Macron and said that his decision constituted "a positive step in the right direction."

Macron appears either indifferent or unaware of the effect his announcement might have on the hostages that Hamas kidnapped and is still torturing and starving in its tunnels. He also seems unaware that even if Abbas, now in the 20^th year of his four-year term, suddenly condemned the massacre of October 7, 2023, that for almost two years, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its Fatah political wing wholeheartedly celebrated it.

Since the creation of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, Abbas has enthusiastically backed anti-Israeli terrorism; supported the erasure of Israel (as well as here, and here); has a lavish, multi-billion dollar "pay-to-slay" program that funds murdering Jews, and uses textbooks that incite children to murder Jews.

Does Macron actually think that financing anti-Israeli terrorism, supporting the eradication of Israel, and inciting children to kill Jews are "courageous commitments"?

Macron apparently has no interest in seeing what the real aspirations of Palestinian Arabs are. Recent polls show that 64% of Arabs living under the rule of the Palestinian Authority think that the "two-state solution" is "no longer practical", 72% approve of the October 7 massacre, and 41% support an "armed struggle" (terrorism) to destroy Israel. So, Macron actually regards these views -- approving the October 7, 2023 massacre of Jews and continuing terrorism to displace Israel -- as "legitimate aspirations"? Good to know.

Macron acts as if he has no idea that, if elections were held today in the West Bank territories ruled by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas would win in a landslide -- meaning that the state he is planning to recognize would be a terrorist state led by an organization dedicated to obliterating Israel? France, the UK, Canada and Australia also approved recognizing a terrorist state.

Macron says he wants "the release of all hostages," but his announcement may well have doomed them. "Talks with Hamas fell apart on the day Macron made the unilateral decision that he's going to recognize the Palestinian state," Rubio stated. As soon as Macron's decision was announced, Hamas broke off negotiations. Macron may have sentenced the remaining hostages to death.

After seeing the horrific images of starved, tortured, and skeletal hostages released by Hamas, Macron wrote: "Abject cruelty, limitless inhumanity: this is what Hamas embodies." This observation, however, did not lead him to change his position or state any conditions.

Macron's calls for an immediate ceasefire could save Hamas from destruction -- exactly what Hamas and Qatar want.

Macron barely mentions the October 7th massacre, thereby conveniently omitting that it was the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. This "oversight" amounts to exonerating Hamas from the immensity of its crime. Macron's declaration is not just "a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th", it is a slap in the face to all the Israelis who still live in pain from the October 7th massacre; to all the families of hostages who know the horror of the treatment Hamas is still inflicting on the victims it still holds; to all the Israeli soldiers currently risking their lives to ensure there will never be another massacre, and to all the Israelis who want to see the threat of terrorism weighing on their country and them permanently erased.

France, the UK, Canada and Australia have to see that the terrorist state they are about to recognize has no borders, no internationally recognized territory, and meets no criteria of any kind as required in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933) for a state to be recognized.

France, the UK, Canada and Australia also must see that the United Nations can only recognize a state under very specific conditions that will likely not be met. Chapter II, Article 4 of the UN Charter states that the admission of a state to membership in the United Nations "shall be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council."

France, the UK, Canada and Australia undoubtedly fathom that even if there were an affirmative vote in the General Assembly, the United States would immediately veto it. Even if the Democrats returned to power, it is not at all likely that they would support creating a genocidal, terrorist state.

France, the UK, Canada and Australia further know that Article 80 of the United Nations Charter makes it impossible to create a Palestinian state on the territory of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank without Israel's agreement. Late Israeli lawyer Howard Grief noted:

"Article 80 of the UN Charter, once known unofficially as the Jewish People's clause, which preserves intact all the rights granted to Jews under the Mandate for Palestine, even after the Mandate's expiry on May 14-15, 1948."

He added:

"As a direct result of Article 80, the UN cannot transfer these rights over any part of Palestine, vested as they are in the Jewish People, to any non-Jewish entity."

France, the UK, Canada and Australia also undoubtledly realize that Israel cannot stop the war without the return of all of the hostages. What would they do if their citizens were held hostage? Or are they already?

After October 7, 2023, Israel has no choice but to resolutely oppose the creation of any terrorist state threatening it on its borders. If France, the UK, Canada and Australia are so committed to the creation of a Palestinian State, surely they will be happy to donate some of their plentiful land for it.

Macron wants to exert increased pressure only on Israel. He sees that a strong trend of hostility towards Israel has taken shape in the Western world, and he apparently enjoys playing the role of its figurehead.

France, the UK, Canada and Australia might also be joined by Portugal. Its Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has said he is leaning toward the "rapid recognition" of a Palestinian state.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was more moderate but said:

"For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state comes more at the end of that process. But such a process must begin now."

On July 21, the leaders of 31 countries issued a joint statement on "Occupied Palestinian Territories" that amounted to blood libel, stating that Israel practices "the inhumane killing of civilians, including children," ignores the "most basic needs" of the inhabitants of Gaza, and denies them "essential humanitarian assistance." Hamas – carefully not referred to as a terrorist organization or with any mention if its culpability -- is mentioned exactly once.

A conference on the "question of Palestine," co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, held in New York in July, led to a joint declaration "urging collective action to end the war in Gaza and to achieve a just, peaceful, and lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict". The declaration -- signed by 17 countries, the 22-member Arab League, and the entire European Union -- stated that Hamas must transfer authority to the Palestinian Authority with a view to the creation of a "demilitarized Palestinian state" living side by side, in peace and security with Israel. When Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2005, the Gaza Strip was not supposed to become militarized or a terrorist entity. That happened anyway, and in all probability would happen again unless Israel stopped it again.

The population of the Gaza Strip voted for Hamas to come to power in 2006. In 2007, members of the Palestinian Authority, in a coup, were either expelled, taken prisoner or executed.

Israel is now being falsely accused of causing a famine in Gaza. Most commentators completely ignore that Hamas has constantly stolen food aid entering Gaza, then hoarded it and resold it at extortionist prices. These commentators also omit that at the entrance to Gaza, approximately 1,000 trucks were blocked for days because the UN refused to distribute the aid, leaving it to rot in the sun, even after Israel offered the UN military protection.

UNRWA, which employs Hamas members, uses fake Hamas figures and falsely accuses Israel of killing Palestinian Arabs seeking food. The fake figures released by UNRWA are then used worldwide to try to criminalize Israel further. Photos of an Arab child emaciated due to a genetic illness were presented, again falsely, as photos of a child dying of starvation because of Israel.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The ICC accused them -- not Hamas which stole most of the food -- of crimes against humanity.

Hamas is an organization with straightforwardly unhidden genocidal goals:

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).
– 1988 Hamas Covenant, Preamble

"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla [slave of Allah], there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."
– 1988 Hamas Covenant, Article 7

"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."
– 1988 Hamas Covenant, Article 13

The October 7, 2023 massacre carried genocidal intentions that Hamas leaders did not even try to hide. Nevertheless, it is Israel that is slanderously accused of genocide. The well-documented reality is that the Israeli army does everything possible to avoid civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip. John Spencer, Chair of the Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, who has been embedded with the IDF in Gaza four times, has stated:

"There is no genocide in Gaza....Israel has taken extraordinary steps to limit civilian harm. It warns before attacks using text messages, phone calls, leaflets, and broadcasts. It opens safe corridors and pauses operations so civilians can leave combat areas. It tracks civilian presence down to the building level. I have seen missions delayed or canceled because children were nearby. I have seen Israeli troops come under fire and still be ordered not to shoot back because civilians might be harmed."

All the same, the accusation of genocide against Israel is peddled not only by extremist groups supporting Hamas, but also by so-called human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez actually called the situation in Gaza "the greatest genocide this century has witnessed." Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin used the term "genocide" to describe the situation in Gaza. On May 28, 2024 Spain, Ireland and Norway rushed to "recognize" a make-believe Palestinian state.

This continual demonization of Israel has sadly led to an increased hatred of Israel, a tiny country that, ironically, is fighting to protect the very countries defaming it. A thank you would be nice. It is this calumny that has led to an explosion in Europe of anti-Semitic acts.

Columnist Jonathan Tobin wrote:

"Jew-hatred is not merely back in fashion... it has been sanctioned by the intellectual, academic, legal and cultural establishments across the globe, which now regard anti-Zionism as a legitimate, even enlightened point of view, even though it is a prejudicial idea that denies rights to Jews—rights denied to no one else."

The oldest hatred is not dead. It just has new excuses, new clothes.

In a speech delivered to Congress on July 24, 2024, Prime Minister Netanyahu described the slanderous accusations against Israel, plentiful for decades, and the resulting rise in anti-Semitism. He emphasized how precious the United States' friendship with Israel was in these decisive circumstances. He added that Israel would fight and would not bend, but that there was a growing risk that democracies would not understand the extremist danger and the urgent need to defeat it.

What is at stake now is not only Israel's survival but the need for democracies to understand the central danger confronting them, and finally to start combatting it.

During the Second World War, all those grateful for the hard-won freedoms of the democratic world saw that the only way out was not compromise and submission, but the full destruction of the Third Reich -- not giving it a "state."

Dr. Guy Millière, a professor at the University of Paris, is the author of 27 books on France and Europe.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21875/france-macron-rewards-terrorism

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US temporarily stops most visa approvals for Palestinians - NYT - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

New US measures would prevent Palestinians from the West Bank, as well as Palestinians in the diaspora, from entering the US on several non-immigrant visas.

 

A boy waves a Palestinian flag during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Lafayette Square near the White House in Washington, December 2, 2023; illustrative.

(photo credit: REUTERS/BONNIE CASH)

 

The US has suspended approval on most visitor visas for Palestinian passport holders, the New York Times reported on Sunday evening, citing US officials.

Officials interviewed by NYT noted that the measures were in effect on a temporary basis. 

The measures would prevent Palestinians from the West Bank, as well as Palestinians in the diaspora, from entering the US on several non-immigrant visas, NYT added, citing four US officials who were familiar with an internal State Department memo.

The suspensions affect those seeking visas for medical treatment, university studies, visits to loved ones, and business travel, NYT reported.

The measures cover anyone who only  holds a Palestinian passport, and do not apply to Palestinians with dual citizenship or those who have obtained visas.

People who arrived in Chicago from Gaza in July through an organization known as Heal Palestine, pray on the day of a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Chicago, Illinois, US, August 21, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/SETH HERALD)

The State Department confirmed to NYT that it had told diplomats to enforce the restrictions.

The department also said that it was taking “concrete steps in compliance with US law and our national security in regards to announced visa restrictions” for Palestinians.

The State Department told consular officials to enact Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to refuse visas to anyone using a Palestinian passport in their application, at least on a temporary basis, NYT noted.

US denies PA officials entrance to US for UNGA

This comes after the State Department announced on Friday that it would not allow Palestinian Authority officials to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next month.

“The Trump administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” the State Department noted in a release.

The PA denied the accusations and said that the decision  “stands in clear contradiction to international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement.”

Amichai Stein contributed to this report.

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-865903

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National debt to rise to 120% of GDP by 2035, budget watchdog warns - Nicholas Ballasy

 

by Nicholas Ballasy

"To hold debt at 100% of GDP, approximately $4 trillion is needed over five years, or $9 trillion over the decade," analysis says.

 

The national debt is projected to rise from 100% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at present to 120% of GDP by 2035, according to the latest figures from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a nonpartisan fiscal policy think tank, based on baseline budget data from the Congressional Budget Office.

The CRFB released an adjusted August 2025 baseline, which found that annual deficits will "remain above 6% of GDP throughout most of the decade," which is "more than twice the 3% target advocated by some policymakers."

The budget watchdog group estimated that bringing the federal deficit down gradually to 3% of GDP would require around $3.5 trillion in savings over five years, including interest, or $7.5 trillion over ten years.

"To hold debt at 100% of GDP, approximately $4 trillion is needed over five years, or $9 trillion over the decade," read their analysis.

The CRFB found that achieving a deficit equal to 4% of GDP would require about $5 trillion in savings while balancing the full federal budget, including interest, would require about $15.5 trillion in total savings.

The watchdog group noted that economic growth alone cannot solely take the place of major fiscal policy changes to get the fisacl situation in the U.S. under control. The CRFB recommended that the U.S government implement "super PAYGO" as well as trust fund reform and other spending reduction initiatives.

"Under Super PAYGO, every dollar of new spending or tax cuts would be offset by at least two dollars of revenue increases or spending reductions, thus ensuring that new tax cut and mandatory spending legislation also includes deficit reduction," the CRFB said.

CRFB noted that "faster growth can make these fiscal goals easier." However, the watchdog group said that "thoughtful pro-growth deficit reduction and reform is likely the best way to put the country on a sustainable fiscal path."

The CBO recently released a separate estimate which found that the Trump administration's tariffs will cut the U.S. federal deficit by $4 trillion through 2035. 

The analysis found the tariffs would lead to $3.3 trillion in direct tariff revenue and $700 billion in savings from lower interest payments on borrowing. These projections are revised from CBO's earlier estimates. In June, the CBO had estimated that tariffs would offset budget shortfalls by $3 trillion. 

Nicholas Ballasy

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/congress/national-debt-rise-100-gdp-present-120-2035

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Pentagon claimed Abbey Gate still would’ve happened even if ISIS-K bomber had remained behind bars - Jerry Dunleavy

 

by Jerry Dunleavy

The Pentagon under Biden repeatedly claimed that the Abbey Gate bombing was not preventable, even if they had not allowed the bomber to be released. But a host of facts indicate that the deadly bombing may not have had to happen.

 

President Biden's Pentagon has argued that the Abbey Gate attack was not preventable — going so far as to claim that the attack still would have occurred even if the bomber had remained behind bars rather than being freed by the Taliban — despite a host of evidence indicating that the ISIS-K attack at Kabul airport did not have to happen the way it did.

An ISIS-K suicide bomber named Abdul Rahman al-Logari — who had been freed by the Taliban from a prison at Bagram Air Base in mid-August 2021 mere weeks after the U.S. abandoned the base — has been identified by CENTCOM as having carried out the suicide attack at Abbey Gate, killing 13 U.S. service members and an estimated 170 Afghan civilians while wounding dozens of other U.S. troops and scores of Afghans in the crowd on August 26, 2021.

There are other facts in evidence which suggest the Abbey Gate bombing was not inevitable.

The Taliban forces purportedly providing security outside of Kabul airport included the Haqqani Taliban’s Badri 313 suicide units. CENTCOM'S General Kenneth McKenzie admitted on TV, in congressional testimony, and in his memoir that the Taliban repeatedly refused to search or raid potential ISIS-K locations during the evacuation. A U.S. military investigation also concluded the Taliban failed to do all it could to prevent the Abbey Gate attack.

McKenzie arranged a deal with Taliban

Just the News previously reported that less than two weeks before the Abbey Gate bombing, McKenzie held a mid-August 2021 meeting with Taliban leader Mullah Baradar in Doha, Qatar which would end with the Taliban taking control of Kabul and the U.S. relying upon the goodwill of Taliban fighters to provide security at the Kabul airport during the evacuation. 

During that meeting, Baradar said the Taliban was willing to withdraw its forces from in and around Kabul and would let the U.S. send in as many troops as it wanted to secure the Afghan capital and conduct the U.S. evacuation free from Taliban interference, but McKenzie admits that he turned the offer down on the spot.

A U.S. military investigation also found that the U.S. military had not done all it could to properly secure Kabul airport against threats ahead of the evacuation. The U.S. military also did not conduct constant surveillance of Abbey Gate during the evacuation, despite the ISIS-K threats against the airport and against that gate. The U.S. military also did not carry out any strikes against ISIS-K until after the Abbey Gate bombing.

HFAC’s report also did not place responsibility on the Pentagon for its air strike in Kabul which killed Afghan civilians.

McKenzie is currently listed as the Executive Director for the Global and National Security Institute at the University of Southern Florida. The general did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to him through his email at the school. Nor did he respond to requests for comment for prior Just the News reporting about him.

As for criticism of the HFAC report, "Chairman McCaul stands by his comprehensive report, the culmination of 18 transcribed interviews, seven public hearings, and 20,000 pages of documents obtained under subpoena from the State Department,” Emily Cassil, a spokesperson for former HFAC Chairman Michael McCaul, told Just the News.

It would later turn out that the deal McKenzie made would allow the Taliban's notorious suicide unit, called the Badri 313 to be responsible for securing the airport. Taliban commander Abdul Hadi Hamdan later said in an HBO documentary that “when I came to Kabul I was put in charge of the airport. We surrounded it with a thousand suicide bombers.”

Pentagon claims bomb attack "unavoidable"

Army Brigadier General Lance Curtis insisted in 2022 that “this was not preventable." A defense official asserted in a Defense Department news article in 2024 that ISIS-K would have simply used a different bomber and thus the Abbey Gate attack still would have happened even if Abbey Gate terrorist Abdul Rahman al-Logari had remained behind bars at Bagram Air Base. HFAC's report last year did not mention this claim.

An unnamed GOP majority staff aide from HFAC told the Washington Times last year that the committee did not agree that the Abbey Gate bombing was unavoidable, and that Logari wouldn’t have been able to attack Abbey Gate if President Biden hadn’t abandoned Bagram Air Base and allowed the Taliban to free the ISIS-K prisoners, including Logari.

Indeed, part of why ISIS-K may have had multiple suicide bombers available was because the Taliban had freed potentially more than a thousand of these terrorists from the prisons around Bagram — which would likely not have happened if the U.S. had still controlled Bagram in August 2021.

U.S. relied upon Taliban to provide security at HKIA

The U.S. relied upon the Taliban for security at HKIA throughout the evacuation. This happened because of a mix of decisions by President Biden and choices made by key military leaders.

As Just the News previously reported, the U.S. military had numerous meetings with the Taliban, with the U.S. relying upon the Taliban to provide security at the Kabul airport. The Taliban’s liaison with the U.S. military was Mawlawi Hamdullah Mukhlis, also known as Mawlawi Hamdullah Rahmani, who was photographed sitting in the Afghan president’s chair in the Afghan presidential palace when the Taliban took it over on August 15, 2021.

McKenzie said in September 2021 that “yes, we do” know which Taliban forces were providing security at HKIA, and admitted that the Taliban’s Haqqani-linked Badri 313 Unit "specializes in suicide bombing attacks,“ under questioning from Rep. Mike Gallagher, R., Wis.

Then-Major General Chris Donahue told investigators that “we met with the Taliban” and “we told them which areas we would be in charge of and which areas they would need to control.” Donahue said that “our general breakdown was that if it was tactical, I would deal with the Taliban. If it was above that, Rear Admiral [Pete] Vasely would deal with it. If we met with them together, same thing.”

One U.S. military officer whose name was redacted, involved in planning for the NEO said that “the Taliban did give General McKenzie a POC [point of contact] for the ground commander in Kabul.” The contact was Hamdullah. The U.S. military officer said the Taliban told McKenzie that this Taliban ground commander would "give you anything you need.”

Second-guessing bad judgment

McKenzie wrote in his memoir, The Melting Point, that “I am confident that using the Taliban reduced attacks on our forces” but that “I am also sure that it reduced by some number — and perhaps a significant number — the Afghans that we wanted to get out. To mitigate this problem, the Department of State provided examples of travel documents to the Taliban and also names and lists of Afghans that we wanted to evacuate. In some cases this helped; in others it did not. I would make the same decision today.”

McKenzie told Politico in August 2022 that “by and large, the Taliban were helpful in our departure. They did not oppose us. They did do some external security work. There was a downside of that external security work, and it probably prevented some Afghans from getting to Kabul airport as we would have liked. But that was a risk that I was willing to run.” 

Unmentioned were the Americans who were blocked by the Taliban and the Afghans who were murdered by them as the evacuees tried to escape during the NEO.

McKenzie insisted that “we did not rely on the Taliban for our security” but that “we used them as one tool among many to beef up our defensive posture.”

Despite McKenzie’s claims, the Pentagon inspector general emphasized in 2021, just after the NEO, that the U.S. had relied upon the Taliban for security at HKIA: “DoD officials met with Taliban representatives and agreed to cooperate on security at HKIA, with the Taliban forming an external security cordon that U.S. forces inside the facility incorporated into their force protection operations.”

Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on August 17, 2021 that “we are in contact with the Taliban to ensure the safe passage of people to the airport” and that “the Taliban have informed us that they are prepared to provide the safe passage of civilians to the airport, and we intend to hold them to that commitment.” 

The Taliban would inflict violence against Americans and even murder Afghans attempting to escape the country, with no consequences. No U.S. generals were blamed by HFAC for the debacle.

Taliban did not fulfill promises to McKenzie, failed to hunt for ISIS-K

The U.S. military repeatedly asked the Taliban to search or raid suspected ISIS-K locations near the Kabul airport, according to McKenzie, and sometimes the Taliban would agree to help, but other times the Taliban refused to do so. 

Biden claimed on August 20, 2021 that ISIS-K was “the sworn enemy of the Taliban.” He repeated this multiple times during the evacuation. Sworn enemy or not, the Taliban repeatedly refused to help the U.S. against the ISIS-K threat during the evacuation.

One U.S. military officer who was present for the evacuation at Kabul airport and whose name was redacted told investigators that “intelligence officers at HKIA knew that ISIS-K was staging at a hotel 2-3 kilometers west of HKIA, and D2 [Donahue] asked the TB [Taliban] to conduct an assault on the hotel, but they never did.”

McKenzie told the media in 2023 that “there were a variety of targets that we passed to the Taliban to take a look at — more than ten. Some they did. Some they didn’t action.” Pentagon spokesman Chris Meagher confirmed that month “we did ask the Taliban to raid or search several areas” and that the Taliban “searched some and did not search others.”

Of his agreement with the Taliban, McKenzie said, “So yes, we shared a common purpose. I don’t trust the Taliban, I don’t like the Taliban, it was a highly transactional agreement. But it was designed to let us get out. And I will tell you that we certainly did not outsource our security to the Taliban, but I am confident that we would’ve had more Abbey Gate attacks had we not negotiated these limited agreements with the Taliban for some of the external security that they provided.”

McKenzie wrote in his memoir that the U.S. military “shared eighteen imminent threat warnings” with the Taliban, but admitted that “our success in this effort was mixed.” McKenzie said that the Taliban “sometimes … responded and looked at areas we felt held ISIS-K members” but that “sometimes they did not.”

When asked if the Taliban ever declined or refused to search or raid some suspected ISIS-K locations, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan reconciliation, replied in testimony to the HFAC, “No, not that I'm aware of. General McKenzie on the record said he hates the Taliban, but the Talibs did everything — his word, not mine — that we asked them to do during that period. You'd have to ask him. There was a partnership between the — I mean, the word is not like that, I'm sure, by everyone — between them, our security people, and the Taliban, during that period in Kabul.”

But as McKenzie and others admitted, the Taliban had repeatedly declined to assist the U.S. in defending HKIA against the ISIS-K threat during the NEO. McKenzie said on August 26, 2021, shortly after the bombing, that “the Taliban have conducted searches before they get to that point” at the airport gates, but admitted that “sometimes those searches have been good and sometimes not.”

Biden insisted after the blast that “no, I don’t” feel like it was a mistake to depend upon the Taliban to secure the perimeter of the Kabul airport.

Taliban failed to stop Abbey Gate attack, but denies having had responsibility given by McKenzie

U.S. Forces - Afghanistan (USFOR-A) provided a submission during the military’s after-action review concluding that the successful ISIS-K attack at Abbey Gate demonstrated the problem with relying upon the Taliban for security at HKIA, with the investigation concluding that the Taliban failed to fulfill its obligations, in particular, “the 26 August ISIS-K attack reflects the risk of reliance on TB [Taliban] as they failed to ensure checkpoints were in place to screen personnel approaching the gates.”

Vasely told investigators that “clearly the 26th was a lapse in security on the TB's part.” Vasely said it was only after the Abbey Gate bombing, but not before it, that the Taliban began securing the area around Kabul airport: “The TB then took actions to shut down traffic leading to gates, which they hadn't done that previously. From that point forward, the TB took a concerted effort on crowd control, security, and locking down traffic coming towards HKIA.”

Taliban official Habibi Samangani said that “just because we have an agreement not to attack the Americans until they complete their pullout doesn’t mean that we have cooperation with them or provide security for them.” The Taliban tried to say that it was the fault of the U.S. that ISIS-K was able to conduct the bombing, arguing that the night before the bombing it had "warned the foreign forces the repercussions of the large gathering at Kabul airport.”

Additionally, while some U.S. service members said the Taliban’s response to the attack was one of shock and surprise, other troops on the ground said the Taliban responded with glee.

A member of the Marine sniper team whose name was redacted said that just after the bomb went off, “I was sighted in on the Taliban and saw they were sitting in lawn chairs and laughing at us.” Another Marine sniper in the tower said, “I remember when I was pulling security by the vehicle outside the gate, I was looking at the Taliban by the chevron through my sights. I saw a dude in a lawn chair pointing and laughing. I wanted them to do something stupid, I would have taken them out.”

Lt. Col. Brad Whited also said that, after the bombing, “as I looked over, I saw that the Taliban were laughing.” The quotes from service members about the Taliban laughing after the bombing did not appear in the HFAC report.

Missing video surveillance of Abbey Gate bombing

CENTCOM’s “Abbey Gate Attack Narrative” said that only before and after footage exists of the blast. The ARCENT investigation in 2024 also contained testimony revealing the alleged absence of U.S. video surveillance, surveillance cameras, and drone feeds pointed at the location of the Abbey Gate bombing when the attack occurred.

McKenzie said in a 2022 briefing on the Abbey Gate attack that “an MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle” [a Reaper drone] “began observing the scene about three minutes after the attack.” Major Brad Hannon displayed videos during the briefing which were from “an overhead platform” with the video beginning “three minutes and eight seconds after the attack.” Hannon described how the drone pilot came to point his camera at Abbey Gate only after the blast.

Curtis said in 2022 that a Marine's GoPro video was “the only known footage of the blast itself.” The video took place 48 meters from the blast and, in it, “a single individual dressed in all black steps forward from the crowd” and detonates his bomb.

A member of the U.S. military's “targeting cell” tracking ISIS-K during the NEO told investigators that “we did not have FMV [full-motion video] sensors observing Abbey Gate at the time of the explosion.” A member of the 82nd Airborne described the advanced Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) cameras which had been placed around HKIA, and revealed that he did not believe any cameras were pointed at Abbey Gate at the time of the blast.

The service member, whose name was redacted, said that “the cameras that we had access to and could control were not arrayed in a way that faced Abbey Gate.” He added: “I confirmed with the team that was with me on the ground today, and none of us recollect any RAID camera facing Abbey Gate. … The cameras did not face Abbey Gate.” He said that instead “most of the cameras were at the north and west of HKIA.” The soldier also said “no” when asked if he recalled any imagery of the attack, but he insisted that “it is not likely” that the “available [airborne] ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] would have identified a suspicious individual or item prior to the blast.”

One unidentified U.S. military officer said that, before August 15, 2021, “there were sixty RAID towers at HKIA, which were reduced down to three on August 26 because contractor support had departed, and systems were crashing.” The officer said that the Persistent Threat Detection System and the Scan Eagle unmanned aircraft systems that were at HKIA “had been destroyed via combat demilitarization during the emergency evacuation of the embassy.”

A Marine whose name was not revealed and worked in an operation center, admitted "that there was no camera on Abbey Gate, so we weren’t watching it 24 hours a day."

Another U.S. service member whose name was redacted and who was tracking ISIS-K during the NEO was asked if his team had any ISR collection of the attack, including full motion video or geospatial intelligence, but the service member said that “we didn’t have anything additional” from Counterterrorist Intelligence Center, the 82nd Airborne, or the Marines, adding that there was “no special ISR that they did not have.”

Another Marine, who worked in an operations center and whose name was redacted, told investigators that “I don't understand why we didn’t have a dedicated asset. [Redacted] been great to have dedicated for oversight and a visual. We didn’t have our [Redacted]. I had a hard time with asset allocation and control given our position and point of impact.”

Misdirection by referencing an unrelated U.S. air strike 200km from Kabul

The U.S. conducted an airstrike against ISIS-K on August 27, 2021, saying it had killed two ISIS-K terrorists in Nangarhar province after the bombing. CENTCOM spokesman Captain Bill Urban said in a statement that day that “U.S. military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner.”

Major General Hank Taylor said on August 28, 2021 that two "high-profile ISIS targets were killed.” He said the strike was conducted against “an ISIS-K planner and facilitator.” Taylor wouldn’t directly answer whether the two ISIS-K terrorists had already been on the U.S. radar as high-profile people, saying only that “we had intelligence on the target set. That led us as we continued to work up that to conduct that strike.”

President Biden also said that day that “I said we would go after the group responsible for the attack on our troops and innocent civilians in Kabul, and we have. This strike was not the last. We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay.”

ARCENT's supplemental review assessment challenged the idea that striking the ISIS-K cell in Nangarhar potentially could have disrupted the ISIS-K attack at Abbey Gate: “In his interview, [Tyler Vargas-Andrews] referred to a ‘supposed airstrike or raid against an ISIS-K cell leader associated with attack planning against HKIA.’ Although this assertion is outside the scope of the Supplemental Review, a separate investigation into this matter showed the requested target was ISIS-K IVO [in the vicinity of] Jalalabad, which is over 200km away from Kabul. The strike was not directed against the ISIS-K cell in Kabul who planned and conducted the attack at HKIA. The strike intended to target a separate cell, in a different province of Afghanistan; it would not have prevented the attack at Abbey Gate.”

A service member, whose name was redacted, was part of a “targeting cell” and told investigators that he was carrying out targeting efforts against an ISIS-K cell in Jalalabad in Nangarhar province during the NEO. This targeting cell member said “yes” when asked if the ISIS-K cell in Nangarhar was connected to the ISIS-K cell in Kabul which he was tracking and which ended up conducting the Abbey Gate bombing. 

The interviewer with the ARCENT team, whose name was also redacted, told the targeting cell member that “I have understood that the planning effort was from Jalalabad in order to direct threats around Kabul.” The service member was asked if he targeted the ISIS-K cell in Jalalabad, and he said that “prior to the [Abbey Gate] attack, we did not conduct any lethal action that I recall.”

Outside of one airstrike, Biden did not conduct any other airstrikes targeting ISIS-K in Afghanistan for the rest of his term.

The U.S. military later identified one of two ISIS-K members killed along with the civilians as Kabir Aidi, with CENTCOM saying in September 2021 that he “was an ISIS-K high-profile attack lethal aid facilitator involved in attack planning and magnetic IED production.” CENTCOM said Aidi “was directly connected to the ISIS-K leaders that coordinated the August 26 attack at HKIA.” CENTCOM also said Aidi was “directly connected to threat streams in Kabul throughout the non-combatant evacuation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, to include the reported distribution of explosives and suicide vests.”

A U.S. official told the media at the time that “we believe this terrorist was involved in planning future attacks in Kabul.”

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on August 28, 2021 that “the fact that two of these individuals are no longer walking on the face of the earth that's a good thing” and that “it's a good thing for the people of Afghanistan and it's a good thing for our troops and our forces at that airfield.” He said that the strike meant that ISIS-K had now “lost some capability to plan and to conduct missions.”

It was reported by Politico that day that “one of the [ISIS-K] targets was involved in running weapons and bombs into Kabul.” Sullivan said on August 29, 2021 that the ISIS-K targets in Nangarhar were “planning additional attacks, and we believe that, by taking them out, we have disrupted those attacks.” 

Sullivan added that the terrorists were involved in the “production of explosive devices” and that the ISIS-K members were “part of the larger network of ISIS-K that is seeking to target” U.S. troops “at the airport.”

HFAC shifts blame for civilian-killing drone strike from Pentagon to Biden Administration

The HFAC's final report claimed that “The Defense Department, at the instruction of the [Biden] administration, killed ten innocent Afghan civilians, including Zemari Ahmadi, a longtime aid worker employed by Nutrition and Education International, and nine members of his family, including seven children.”

There is no evidence that this strike was carried out “at the instruction of the administration.” The HFAC report also stated that “the Biden-Harris administration presented this strike as a success.” The report made no mention of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley’s controversial claim that it was a “righteous strike.”

The final report also did not address facts demonstrating that top U.S. military leaders had seemingly misled about some aspects of the collateral killings.

According to The New York Times, some U.S. military witnesses who gave sworn statements in a Pentagon investigation said they learned of potential civilian casualties minutes after the strike while the drone video feed was being reviewed, while some other witnesses reportedly said they learned of potential Afghan civilian deaths only a few hours after the explosion.

But statements from CENTCOM that day and in the following days did not acknowledge any Afghan civilian deaths, and Milley declared it a “righteous strike” in early September 2021 despite acknowledging later that month that he had learned of civilian deaths within hours of the strike.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki argued on August 30, 2021 that “the fact that we have had two successful strikes” — the strike against Kabir Aidi in Nangarhar and the strike against civilians in Kabul — “confirmed by CENTCOM tells you that our over-the-horizon capacity works and is working.”

Milley himself was asked on September 1, 2021 about whether numerous civilians had been killed in the airstrike, and he acknowledged that multiple people had been killed in the strike but did not admit they were civilians, saying, “At least one of those people that were killed was an ISIS facilitator. So were there others killed? Yes, there are others killed. Who they are, we don't know.” 

McKenzie, Milley, and Defense Secretary Lloyd later acknowledged on September 29, 2021 that they knew within hours that the August 29, 2021, airstrike in Kabul killed innocent civilians, but McKenzie also claimed that CENTCOM had quickly admitted it — yet the Pentagon had repeatedly declined to confirm civilian casualties in the days after the strike.

Lieutenant General Sami Said, the U.S. Air Force Inspector General, was tasked to conduct a review and an investigation of the deadly strike, and he said at a press briefing that it was important to keep in mind the circumstances at the time of the strike: “The risk to forces at HKIA and the multiple threat streams that they were receiving of an imminent attack, mindful that, three days prior, such an attack took place, where we lost thirteen soldiers — or lost thirteen members and a lot of Afghan civilians.”

Milley would years later tell HFAC that “for several days, it was my impression that the procedures were executed correctly and that we struck a target that we thought was an enemy. There was a mistake made. It’s a tragic mistake of war.”

• Reporter's disclosure

A quick word about this author (a disclosure I shared in my prior pieces on Milley and McKenzie). I co-authored a book — KABUL — on the withdrawal and evacuation from Afghanistan and, prior to joining Just the News, I worked as the senior investigator on the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), specifically tasked with reviewing the bungled Afghan withdrawal.

I quit the committee in protest last August over disagreements with then-GOP Chairman Michael McCaul over how his investigation was run and over what was edited out of the drafts I wrote before HFAC’s final report was published last September.

In full disclosure, I have also been serving as an independent factfinder in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's ongoing review of the Pentagon’s failings during the Afghan withdrawal, but I am participating in that exercise solely as a journalist. I'm not paid by any government agency and my participation is solely to help provide Just the News readers and the American public with a better understanding of what led to such a disaster. 

Jerry Dunleavy

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/security/pentagon-claimed-abbey-gate-still-wouldve-happened-even-if-isis-k-bomber-was

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Houthi terrorists raid UN premises in Yemen, detain at least 11 people, reports say - Reuters, Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Reuters, Jerusalem Post Staff

In recent days, Israel struck a group of top Houthi military officials in Sanaa who were watching the Houthi leader give a nationally televised speech.

 

People stand outside a fuel station one day after it was hit by Israeli airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, August 25, 2025.

(photo credit: Stringer/Reuters)

Yemen's Houthi terrorists raided United Nations offices in Sanaa and detained at least 11 personnel, according to media reports on Sunday.

Reuters could not immediately verify the information. A representative for the UN in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

World Food Programme spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press that security forces raided the agency's offices in the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa on Sunday morning, adding that at least one staffer was detained in the city and others were reportedly detained in other areas.

World Health Organization and UNICEF offices were also raided, AP reported, citing a UN official and a Houthi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Armed forces raided the offices and questioned employees in the parking lot, the report said, citing a UN official, who added that contact with several other WFP and UNICEF staffers was lost and that they were likely also detained.

Protesters, predominantly Houthi supporters, demonstrate in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, in Sanaa, Yemen August 15, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)

Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, later confirmed that at least 11 UN personnel were detained, adding that he “strongly” condemns the detentions, as well as the forced entry into UN premises.

In a statement on X/Twitter, he added that "Yemen cannot afford to become a battleground for a broader geopolitical conflict. These attacks need to stop."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of those detained.  

“The personnel of the UN and its partners must never be targeted, arrested, or detained while carrying out their duties for the UN,” he said. “The United Nations will continue to work tirelessly to secure the safe and immediate release of all arbitrarily detained individuals.”

WFP and UNICEF spokespeople told CNN that the organizations are “urgently seeking additional information."

“Our immediate priority is the safety and well-being of our staff," they said, as quoted by CNN. 

Israel strikes Houthi officials, PM

In recent days, Israel struck a group of top Houthi military officials in Sanaa who were watching the Houthi leader give a nationally televised speech. 

On Saturday, the Houthis' Supreme Political Council head, Mahdi al-Mashat, said that Houthi Prime Minister Ghalib al-Rahawi and several other ministers were killed in the Israeli strike last week. 

According to the Houthis, no senior military officials, who hold greater influence than those killed, were harmed in Israel’s strikes.

“We will take revenge, and what the enemy has achieved is nothing more than a chance success. To the Zionists, I say: dark days await you,” Mahdi al-Mashat, the head of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, said in a recorded speech released Saturday night.

The IDF said that it was preparing for any possible scenario. 

Yonah Jeremy Bob, Amir Bohbot, and Liron Haroni contributed to this report.

Reuters, Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-865892

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