New evidence that the Deep State is in an internal battle over Afghanistan just surfaced and it’s a battle between the intel community and the White House/Pentagon. It reared its ugly head with a leak that made Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby furious when he was questioned earlier today (video below).
He also released a statement condemning the release of the classified information confirming that these are legit documents:
“This story is based on the unlawful disclosure of classified information and internal deliberations of a sensitive nature. As soon as we became aware of the material divulged to the reporter, we engaged Politico at the highest levels to prevent the publication of information that would put our troops and our operations at the airport at greater risk. We condemn the unlawful disclosure of classified information and oppose the publication of a story based on it while a dangerous operation is ongoing.”
A Politico report of leaked classified intel makes a stunning claim the Pentagon knew about the impending suicide bombing at the Kabul Airport’s Abbey Gate. Defense Secretary Austin and Gen. Milley knew about the bombing and held a Pentagon meeting just 24 hours before the attack. According to classified notes of the meeting shared with Politico, preparations for an “imminent casualty event” were to be made but they kept the Abbey Gate, reportedly the “highest risk” area, open the next day.
Politico reports:
(Politico) – Just 24 hours before a suicide bomber detonated an explosive outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, senior military leaders gathered for the Pentagon’s daily morning update on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.
Speaking from a secure video conference room on the third floor of the Pentagon at 8 a.m. Wednesday — or 4:30 p.m. in Kabul — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin instructed more than a dozen of the department’s top leaders around the world to make preparations for an imminent “mass casualty event,” according to classified detailed notes of the gathering shared with POLITICO.
During the meeting, Gen. Mark Milley, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned of “significant” intelligence indicating that the Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate, ISIS-K, was planning a “complex attack,” the notes quoted him as saying. Commanders calling in from Kabul relayed that the Abbey Gate, where American citizens had been told to gather in order to gain entrance to the airport, was “highest risk,” and detailed their plans to protect the airport.
“I don’t believe people get the incredible amount of risk on the ground,” Austin said, according to the classified notes.
On a separate call at 4 that afternoon, or 12:30 a.m. on Thursday in Kabul, the commanders detailed a plan to close Abbey Gate by Thursday afternoon Kabul time. But the Americans decided to keep the gate open longer than they wanted in order to allow their British allies, who had accelerated their withdrawal timeline, to continue evacuating their personnel, based at the nearby Baron Hotel.
American troops were still processing entrants to the airport at Abbey Gate at roughly 6 p.m. in Kabul on Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest there, killing nearly 200 people, including 13 U.S. service members. (read more)
