US drone strike kills ISIS-K 'planner' | Pentagon
Lucas Tomlinson has the latest on the American response to the Kabul terror attack on 'The Ingraham Angle'
This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," August 27, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
PETE HEGSETH, FOX NEWS HOST: I'm Pete Hegseth in for Laura Ingraham and this is the "Ingraham Angle". We start with a big Fox News alert.
Moments ago, we learned a drone strike killed an ISIS-K planner, who was believed to be carrying out future attacks according to the Pentagon. Also tonight, the State Department once again warning Americans at the Kabul airport to leave immediately. The gates are closed. For the latest, we go live to the Pentagon where Fox's Lucas Tomlinson is standing by. Lucas?
LUCAS TOMLINSON, FOX NEWS PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, less than 48 hours after that deadly suicide attack that killed 13 American service members and wounded 20 others and killed over 160 Afghans, the U.S. military has struck back launching a drone strike in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. That's the headquarters of the ISIS in Corizon Group which has carried out those deadly attacks against those Americans, Pete.
In a statement from U.S. Central Command, Captain William Irvin said in a statement, "Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties." And if you remember, President Biden just a few days ago said he will hunt down and kill whoever's responsible for this attack. It was not clear when that would take place.
The U.S. military has been busy preparing to leave the country in the next two or three days. But breaking news here at the Pentagon, the U.S. military has struck back and killed an ISIS planner. I'm told he was traveling in a vehicle and also killed was an associate with him.
Again, an American drone strike has killed an ISIS planner who's responsible for carrying out potentially future attacks against the U.S. military. Not necessarily I'm told, Pete, was he involved in that attack that killed 13 American service members.
HEGSETH: Yes, Lucas, that was my next question. Do we - we believe he was the leader or a leader of ISIS-K? And we don't know yet if it's directly connected to what happened at the airport.
TOMLINSON: That's right, Pete. My sources tell me that this was an ISIS-K plan or this is the ISIS branch in Afghanistan, of course, a splinter group from the ISIS group in the Middle East. And that he was planning additional attacks, not necessarily the attack at the outside the Kabul airport that killed 13 American service members. This was a planner, not necessarily even a leader.
You noticed the statement from U.S. Central Command, it doesn't say the ISIS-K leader, it says ISIS-K planner.
HEGSETH: Got it. Those words do matter in this moment. But nonetheless, we're starting to hunt them down and make them pay as the president promised just yesterday.
Real quick. I also saw the phrase over the horizon. Do we know whether this drone strike came from the Kabul airport, if it emanated from somewhere else? Do we have any information on that?
TOMLINSON: We do, Pete. Well, of course, there's no drones right now at the Kabul airport. These drones fly from the Middle East from Al Dhafra airbase in the United Arab Emirates. It's about an eight-hour flight into Afghanistan. Of course, you have to fly over that air corridor in Pakistan and loiter overhead for - you only have about four or five hours overhead. That is where this drone strike took place.
It was launched from the Middle East flew of Afghanistan. The only air assets that are actually at the Kabul airport are Apache gunships, which I know you're very familiar with.
HEGSETH: Yes. But could be an indication of the type of over the horizon capacity necessary wants troops leave on the 31st. Real quick. Any news as well, Lucas, on intelligence? Where we may have gotten this information from?
TOMLINSON: Just not clear right now at this time. But, of course, the U.S. military, keeps a range of assets in here. Not just drones, but other aircraft that can snoop on communications, mobile phones, all kinds of things. I'll just leave it there. And so, it's not without thinking after a devastating attack like we saw yesterday in Kabul, the U.S. military was clearly scrambling all its assets to find out who is responsible. And also who might be responsible for other attacks.
In your alert at the top of the show, the State Department put out another warning telling Americans if there are any Americans outside the gates of the hotel of the airport in Kabul to exit immediately, to leave the area immediately. So it's very clear that the U.S. military and the State Department do not want crowds outside the gates and let alone Americans. Because there are threat warning.
And General McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, Pete, warned that future attacks were likely and potentially imminent. So perhaps this drone strike took out a leader who's planning a future attack in next coming days. We still have 5000 U.S. troops on the ramp at the Kabul airport, Pete.
HEGSETH: These are initial reports. And so we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves and speculate. At the same time, it wouldn't be inconceivable that Intel of this type could actually come from Taliban sources as well. I mean, do we know yet how linked or unlinked these groups are?
I think a lot of people, Lucas, were jarred by the idea that the Taliban was willing to let ISIS-K fighters out of those prisons at Bagram airbase calling it a question, you know, are these just the same people with different flags? Do we know how Intel might be flowing on this?
TOMLINSON: We don't know. But you struck on something very important, Pete, and that's earlier today, our own Jennifer Griffin asked Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, just how many of these ISIS fighters were sprung from prisons around Afghanistan when the Taliban took over? John Kirby said "Thousands".
And now, you mentioned, ISIS and the Taliban have not always gotten along. In fact, they've actually fought against one another. And for years the Joint Special Operations Command, particularly the Ranger Regiment were launching raids in eastern Afghanistan in Nangarhar where the ISIS branch in Afghanistan is based.
And so, in fact, in recent years because of the ISIS fighting the Taliban, there were almost the De Facto Alliance, the U.S. was launching drone strikes, a tacit almost alliance with the Taliban, a common enemy. But you cannot rule out certainly that suicide attack yesterday that killed 13 American service members, you cannot rule out Taliban involvement.
Because, of course, this ISIS bomber, you know, believing ISIS carried out this attack did manage to slip through Taliban checkpoints. And some of them were run by the Haqqani network. So you cannot rule out any kind of collaboration. But there is some history of animosity, Pete, to put it like.
HEGSETH: You and your colleague Jennifer Griffin have been doing yeoman's work on this. Exit question before we let you get back to work on more details. I'm going to check back with you again in the program. Ultimately, do we have any sense of how many ISIS-K fighters there are? When you are talking about making them pay, what's the scope of that?
TOMLINSON: Well, the latest intelligence says there are hundreds of ISIS fighters remaining at its peak in 2016. Now it's up to 3000 to 4000. Recall about three months after President Trump took office, he dropped the GBU 43, better known as the mother of all bombs on ISIS-K in eastern Afghanistan in the same province, Nangarhar province in Achin district, which devastated ISIS at the time.
And so based on - because of the Ranger Regiment, because of Joint Special Operations Command launching those raids, ISIS had been devastated in Afghanistan. But because those raids were so successful, Pete, a lot of ISIS-K's leadership has gone underground. In fact, they're in urban area. So any kind of airstrikes in around Kabul or (inaudible), more populated cities be very tough, because as you saw from the statement from Central Command, they do not want civilian casualties.
So any ISIS leaders who are in more urban areas be much tougher to get to them. But, of course, this ISIS planner, out for a drive, clearly his last one.
(CROSSTALK)
HEGSETH: That's how they change their tactics to try to shield themselves that way. But important reminder, Lucas, that mother of all bomb that big bomb that was dropped. I had not recalled that that was ISIS-K, beginning of our targeting even back then. Lucas Tomlinson, thanks so much.
TOMLINSON: Well, I'm here, Pete.
HEGSETH: You are. You're on it all the time. We appreciate. We'll check back in with you. Thank you.
Joining me now are two Afghanistan war vets, Indiana Congressman Jim banks and Pennsylvania Senate candidate Sean Parnell. Sean is also the author of "Outlaw Platoon". Congressman Banks, your reaction to the killing of this ISIS-K planner?
REP. JIM BANKS (R-IN): Well, this is a good start. But it would be naive to believe that this is going to stop more attacks from ISIS. We've been briefed now for a few years about the growing threat of ISIS-K in Afghanistan. We knew they were there all along. We knew they were building up in Kabul after the Trump administration pushed the caliphate out of Syria and Iraq.
We knew they were there. We knew that they were waiting for a moment like this and a president like Joe Biden, for the right time to strike during a chaotic event. And that's what we've seen. This strike's close to home. For me, though, we just found out minutes ago, that a Hoosier Marine was killed in the attacks yesterday, Corporal Humberto Sanchez from Logansport, Indiana.
So this strike's close to home for so many of us. We need to go out and hunt down all of these ISIS perpetrators of yesterday's attack and hold them accountable. I'm glad that one drone strike has occurred. But it's going to take a lot more than that to get it done.
HEGSETH: Sean, you know about service and sacrifice in the hills of the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The congressman just mentioned the boys we lost at that gate that we still think about whose names we're learning now. You hear about this drone strike. It obviously doesn't make up for any of it yet. But what does it tell you about the type of response we will have to what happened at that checkpoint?
SEAN PARNELL, "OUTLAW PLATOON" AUTHOR: Well, obviously, I'm glad that a terrorist is dead. But in my heart of hearts, I'm thinking, well, you know, too little too late. It would have been great had Joe Biden and his administration projected strength from the very beginning.
But the fact that they did not project strength that emboldened our enemies, it would have been great if the Biden administration ordered a drone strike on ISIS as they were escaping from these prisons. It would have been great if the Biden administration wouldn't be partnering with the Taliban who was undoubtedly passing intelligence to ISIS, the Haqqani Network, Hekmatyar, that undoubtedly led to the death of our troops. So I'm glad that we got a terrorist. I'm glad that that the world is a safer place without these people on it. But I just wish that Joe Biden would have projected strength from the very beginning.
HEGSETH: Too little too late is a good way to put it. Congressman, we talk about the difference between ISIS and the Taliban. Yet we hear, as Sean alluded to, the idea that the Taliban released all these ISIS fighters. We didn't do anything about it at the time.
There was a Taliban checkpoint that this suicide bomber went past before killing so many Americans. How do we differentiate? How does an average American makes sense of the difference between the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the Haqqani Network, ISIS-K? And what difference does it ultimately really make as it pertains to our security?
BANKS: Was a significant difference, Pete, as you know. But at the end of the day, they're all terrorists. And we should designate them as such. Next week, we will go through on the House Armed Services Committee the markup for the annual National Defense Authorization Act. And I will be introducing an amendment that will designate the Taliban as a terrorist organization, because it turns out that currently they're not.
The Taliban of Pakistan is, the Haqqani Network is, but the Taliban Afghanistan has never been designated as a terrorist organization. And you're seeing right now. I mean they're complicit in the attacks that have occurred as a as they've taken over the country and allowed for this situation to happen. They should be held accountable. The Taliban should be held accountable for these actions as well.
And one way to do that to prevent any material support in any way and further efforts to punish them for those activities would be to designate them as a terrorist organization.
Let me tell you right now that Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, Pete, should be calling every member of Congress back to Congress tonight, tomorrow morning, go back to work. Right now, our focus has to be on getting every American safely out of Afghanistan before more blood is shed. And not - our focus shouldn't be on passing fake infrastructure deals, or $3.5 trillion socialist spending sprees. It should be doing whatever we need to do on the part of Congress to assist this administration to get every American out from behind enemy lines.
As you as you said a moment ago, if the embassy is telling Americans not to go to the airport, there's no there's no safe way out of the country. And this administration still doesn't have a plan to get Americans out from enemy - behind enemy lines. And that's another complete failure on their part.
HEGSETH: I can confirm to your point, congressman. There is no way out. The gates are closed. And anyone attempting to extract people right now is finding course of action two or three or four, because that course of action is closed.
Sean, I want to hit on something that the congressman said. He talked about designating the Taliban as a terrorist organization. That's one side of the conversation. Makes a lot of sense to a lot of us who have dealt with and understand the nature of the Taliban.
At the same time, we're hearing reports from some of the State Department who would like to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government in Afghanistan. Explain the gulf in this view. 20 years after 9/11, one side says they're still terrorists, we know exactly who they are. They would like to kill Americans, if they could. The other one's saying, accept reality. They're the ones in control. And maybe if we bestow legitimacy on them, they'll behave and we can work with them?
PARNELL: Yes. Well, there will never be a world where we can bestow legitimacy on the Taliban. Can we - and by the way I reject the notion that we should mainstream them in any way. As someone who's fought against them for 485 days, believe me when I tell you, they're the enemy.
The Taliban or the terrorist organization that gave Al Qaeda safe harbor, where they killed thousands of Americans on September 11. For 20 years, the Taliban has been killing American troops. The Taliban were the ones that released ISIS from the prison that killed American Marines and a Navy Corpsman just yesterday. And Joe Biden, believe me, it's a height - it's a such an insult that he's trying to mainstream them and he would have us believe that the Taliban are sitting around in caves talking about climate change, and how they can decrease their carbon footprint and maybe make the transfer from a Toyota Hilux pickup truck to a Toyota Prius. It's insulting.
HEGSETH: And they're going to treat the women well now. The women are going to be treated well. Yes.
PARNELL: It's insulting. It's absolutely insulting.
HEGSETH: I want to remind our viewers we kicked off this hour with a brand new report that a U.S. drone strike has killed an ISIS-K planner in Nangarhar province, the headquarters of where ISIS-K operates. Certainly, it sounds like one planner was killed along with an associate in a vehicle. No civilian attacks in a - what is considered an over the horizon drone strike from U.S. forces.
But, Congressman, back to you as far as what relationship the Taliban and ISIS-K have? That really matters to me. Because ultimately, the next steps they're talking about the Taliban, relying on the Taliban currently for the livelihoods of 5000 Americans at that airfield. Yet they have to decide how they manage or exist alongside ISIS-K. What does that relationship look like going forward?
BANKS: Well, it's a complicated relationship. I mean, at the end of the day, the Taliban and ISIS-K have competing visions for the region. The Taliban wanted to--
HEGSETH: Break that down for me though. Break that down. Is that--
BANKS: --the government of Afghanistan.
HEGSETH: Is that because you believe the Taliban is internally focused and ISIS-K is externally focused?
BANKS: ISIS-K wants to build the - their new caliphate. And again, it's - the K stands for Corizon, it's a region, it's not just the borders of Afghanistan but it's an entire region that they want to build the caliphate into.
Also, keep in mind that ISIS-K and the Taliban compete for fighters. ISIS-K being able to pay a lot more for the better fighters. So they're - ISIS-K is more sophisticated. They have better technologies, and ISIS-K poses more of a direct threat to the homeland of the United States than the Taliban does.
(CROSSTALK)
HEGSETH: Why are they able to - congressman, real quick. That's very interesting to me. Why are they able to, I'm curious, sincerely, why are they able to pay more? Why do they have the better weapons? Would they have inherited any of the weapons that we left behind from the Afghan National Army? Talk to me about the dynamic of why they're more sophisticated.
BANKS: Yes. And that's it. I mean, they have the better talent. They already have sophisticated surveillance technology. ISIS-K wants to - they hate America, they hate Americans. They want to destroy America. Again, the Taliban, not to diminish them, but you're dealing with a completely different caliber and a different goals. They're in goals of taking over the government of Afghanistan.
Remembering, as Sean already said, we've gone back in time to September 10, 2001, before the deadly attack when Afghanistan - the Taliban gave - safe harbored Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, Osama Bin Ladin to plot and plan their attacks. That's what we've gone back in time to at this moment.
And ISIS-K is who ultimately we need-- well, the Taliban is a terrorist organization. We need to hold them accountable. ISIS-K's designs are so much more destructive and dangerous and what we have to pay attention to in these days moving forward.
And the situation that Joe Biden has created in Afghanistan has empowered ISIS-K to a degree that we haven't seen before. They're about to - we're going to be hearing a lot more about ISIS-K, sadly, in the days to come. I pray and hope that I'm wrong, Pete. But ISIS-K is going to continue to build up in that region. I hate to say it, but I don't believe that we've seen the worst of what we're going to see in the days to come because of Joe Biden's negligence and his failure creating a situation there. It's going to be very dangerous for the world for a long time to come.
HEGSETH: I want to bring it back to those 5000 boys that are at that - American boys that are at that airport right now, ultimately who were attacked just 48 hours ago. Ultimately, does this strike make their job easier or more difficult, especially when there is threat reporting, and it's not all confirmed, but we're all we're all seeing and hearing about it that ISIS suicide bombers, vehicle borne IEDs could be unlikely are headed in the direction of that airport where there are Taliban checkpoints that didn't work very well last time?
So I know we're looking at the future of the terrorist threat in ISIS-K in retribution for what happened. But as we look at this retrograde, more better, aptly described as a retreat. How does this change what our troops are facing in the next three, four days as they leave?
PARNELL: Well, I think I think it changes everything, Pete. It puts our troops in a far more dangerous positions. In fact, this administration, our generals, by the way, who, for the last six months seem focused on things like critical race theory, and white rage on Capitol Hill. You know, as a leader, when you're a leader in the military, there are only so many hours in the day for you to plan, for you to dedicate your life to your troops.
And every moment that our generals were distracted by some frivolous political argument on Capitol Hill, they were not planning a responsible for a withdrawal from Afghanistan. And you're looking at what's happening now. Our Marines, our troops, 82nd airborne guys are in Hamid Karzai Airport in the middle of a city of 4.5 million people. They're not in a defensive position. And it just goes to show what a disastrous decision that it was to give up Bagram Air Force Base. We wouldn't be having this conversation if we still held on to Bagram Air Force Base, which was a defensible position.
And what's - what I can't wrap my mind around is the Biden administration putting the lives of Americans, right, in the hands of the Taliban, right. Where I've got sources on the ground right now, we've been working around the clock to try to get American citizens and our allies out of that country. The Taliban is playing Joe Biden like a fiddle. They're telling him exactly what he wants to hear. Yes, we're going to protect your people. But on the other hand, they're out there setting up more checkpoints and making it impossible for our people to get to the airport. They're hunting them, they are beating them, they're taking passports. And in some cases, they're shooting at them and making it impossible for them to get to the airport. So this is what the Taliban does. They say one thing, they do another, and it's really time for Joe Biden and his administration to play hardball.
HEGSETH: I got a report just moments ago with people being pulled off of a bus being beaten by the Taliban. It's happening in real-time. Representative, when - we don't know many details about this drone strike that killed an ISIS-K planner. We're glad he's dead, we're glad his associate is dead. We don't know how significant this person truly was, who was driving alone, no civilian casualties. We will hopefully learn more. Our own Lucas Tomlinson will rejoin the program as he digs for more details at the Pentagon.
But when you look at the leadership at the Pentagon, the brass at the Pentagon from Austin to Milley and others, how would you thus far - how would you gauge their response thus far? Not for the entire war, but looking at the last two, three weeks. How they've managed what we've done as a military in this situation?
BANKS: Pete, I hate to say it, but it's a shameful failure on their part. They're going to go down in history as that, as failing our nation, failing our troops, failing our national security. They should be held accountable for that. But right now, we have to be focused on how we get every American safely out from behind enemy lines.
And at this point, I don't have a high degree of confidence that this team can get that done. Yesterday, when Joe Biden appeared before cameras, yet again, with scripted remarks, I had hoped that he would appear before the American people and say that he was replacing every single one of us them. And instead of doing that, he doubled down.
And if he continues to double down and not put capable people in places that at least he will listen to, capable people and places in all of these positions that will figure out how to get every American safely out of Afghanistan, this is going to continue to get worse and worse. That seems to be the fact at this point. I wish that were different. But Joe Biden has proven he's incompetent, and unable to provide the type of leadership that America needs in this moment.
HEGSETH: Sean, when you were a platoon leader in Afghanistan, everything stopped with you. The responsibility was with you from the lives you're meant to your mission to the accountability of your equipment. When you look at who's being held accountable, and who should be held accountable for where we are, and again, we recognize tonight, it's important that this drone strike happened and that we're putting ISIS-K fighters in the dirt. That's a good thing. And there's a mission that's ongoing going forward. And we hope they're successful in that mission.
But we can still do this at the same time, recognize what maybe could have or should have been done better. Is there accountability that needs to exist, whether it's at the Pentagon or the State Department or the National Security Adviser? Where do you place it?
PARNELL: Well, of course, and I got to tell you, I was horrified to watch Joe Biden yesterday, who instead of taking accountability for this botched withdrawal, because you're right, the buck does stop with him. Commanders, as they train you in the military, you're responsible for everything that happens or fails to happen under your command. Joe Biden owns this.
But the first thing that he did was blamed President Trump for this catastrophe. And let me remind the viewers that in seven or eight months of the Trump presidency, ISIS and Al Qaeda and the Taliban were decimated. They were on the ropes in the first eight months of the Biden presidency, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Haqqani Network, Hekmatyar, they control a country. And these terrorist factions are not going to be woven into the fabric of this interim government.
I couldn't have botched the withdrawn Afghanistan worse than Joe Biden, if I tried. He's an absolute disaster. And the only people that have been blamed throughout all of this are the Taliban right now for not conducting security good enough.
I mean, Pete, you and I probably know, privates who were fired for misplacing ink cartridges, yet we have generals who botched the withdrawal of a 20-year war not held accountable at all. It's so backwards and wrong. It's just hard to wrap your mind around.
HEGSETH: I've spent days in a row walking online looking for one weapon that was lost inside a battalion. It's just a reality of what we're up against right now. Representative Banks, I want to ask you real quick. This idea - this attack on this ISIS-K fighter was an over the horizon capacity. As Lucas shared with us and we're going to have him back here shortly. It took about - takes about eight hours for that flight to remain on - to get on station. It's got four or five hours that it can fly over the target. Thankfully, the timing worked out tonight and we're glad. How capable - how sustainable is it to believe that we could degrade the ISIS-K threat from that amount of standoff going forward?
BANKS: You can't. You and I, Sean, all three of us know this having served there, having been there many times, you can't sustain it that way. This is why giving up Bagram was such a colossal mistake. Why we gave up the position that we had before we got every American out of the country and we gave up a Bagram airfield where we could have flown these types of strikes out of directly on the ground. It's not sustainable. We can't keep it up.
I'm glad that the strike occurred and it was a success tonight. But it's going to take a lot more of these types of strikes to eliminate the ISIS-K threat to be successful moving down the road.
HEGSETH: Sean, how long is it before a lot of the underground sources that we've had that we've developed, frankly, that have been central to evacuating so many of the American citizens and our Afghan partners over the last few weeks? How long is it until those relationships, those Intel sources ultimately run dry and aren't as effective, as maybe they were in this case where we have connections. We have Intel operatives. We have agents capable of cultivating sources that led to the fact that this guy's - this ISIS-K planner is dead. How long before, if we have no boots on the ground, no source or very limited sources on the ground, we start to not have the eyes and ears that we need?
PARNELL: Well, I would say, tragically, 31 August. I think that Joe Biden is wholly committed to this withdraw. I think that right now they're blowing up and destroying American equipment and prep for that withdrawal. And my fear is because this surrender has been so botched, we've got allies on the ground, we even have thousands, I would say, of Americans still on the ground who are trapped there. And my fear is that we've invested 20 years of blood and treasure into that country, sacrifice into that country, gave them a shot at freedom. But now we're creating an entire new generation of enemy who have a reason to really dislike us, because we abandoned them in their hour of most desperate need. And my heart breaks for those people after 20 years of sacrifice in that country, thrown away, discarded, in seven months of Joe Biden. It really is just a tragedy.
HEGSETH: That's the scary part of it. I don't know if it's a perfect analogy. But the idea that if you're watching or look - thinking back on an NBA Finals, a seven game series, sometimes the only thing you remember is that last shot in the last 30 seconds.
PARNELL: Exactly.
HEGSETH: And it was so much more that went into it the entire time and much of it has been discarded at this time. Sean Parnell, Representative Jim Banks, thank you for being so generous with your time tonight and perfect guests with your expertise on the ground. Thank you.
All right. I want to bring back in Fox's Lucas Tomlinson at the Pentagon. He brought us the report at the top of the hour of this ISIS-K planner killed in a drone strike. What more can you tell us, Lucas.
TOMLINSON: Pete, I've learned just the last few minutes, it was a U.S. Reaper drone flying from the Middle East likely Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates that flew from the Middle East to Afghanistan over that air corridor in Pakistan into eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province to kill this ISIS planner.
Now, note it was not necessarily an ISIS leader. The U.S. Central Command said ISIS planner. We know that this was in retaliation for the deadly suicide attack that killed 13 American service members just yesterday and wounded another 20. And in fact, the dignified transferred to Dover Air Force Base. We're expecting that tomorrow. We're also expecting President Biden to attend that ceremony when the 13 Americans returned with honor to Dover Air Force Base.
I'm also told that President Biden approved this strike. He had earlier, after this strike, the attack, suicide attack, claimed that he would be carrying out revenge. He would kill those responsible. The big question was, Peter, that with 5000 U.S. troops on the ground in Kabul, would that strike happen with those 5000 U.S. troops still at the Kabul airport? Or would he wait until after the departed President Biden's deadline of August 31?
So what we can say is the U.S. - less than two days after that deadly suicide attack that killed those 13 American service members at the Kabul airport outside the abbey gate, we know that the U.S. has struck back, launching this drone strike, a U.S. Reaper drone killing an ISIS planner along with an associate while he was driving in a vehicle in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province that is not far from the border of Pakistan., Pete.
HEGSETH: Good news, indeed. What can - I know the Pentagon and rightfully so because of operational security is tight lipped about stuff like this. But do you have a sense of they feel confident they have additional targets that they're going to be able to identify other ISIS-K members to be brought to justice?
TOMLINSON: I told you it's going to be a challenge, Pete, because you just don't have the partners on the ground ever since the U.S. military left. And that includes the CIA as well. You just don't have the relationships you want to have. Now, of course, there's a resistance movement taking place in the Panjshir Valley.
We just heard from Afghanistan's vice president Saleh, who was on with Sean Hannity earlier. Of course, teaming up with Ahmad Shah Massoud, the legendary guerrilla fighter who defeated the Soviets as well as the Taliban. His son Ahmad Massoud is leading those resistance forces. So that is a potential source of information. However, they're really pinned down right now in the Panjshir Valley just north of Kabul. And so any kind of intelligence from eastern Afghanistan from Nangarhar province, you just don't have the same relationships. Because, of course, a lot of the Afghan forces that for the last 20 years the U.S. has partnered with, they're in a hiding right now. And they're just not available and you just don't have the same ground assets. You don't even have the same air assets. Think about the aircraft that used to fly around Afghanistan that would listen to mobile phones and different kind of electronics suites. Those just don't exist anymore, Pete.
HEGSETH: We don't have the eyes and ears.
I want to move it over to the airport, to the Kabul airport right now. I'm sure you're seeing many of the same reports I am of threat assessments. The Pentagon has been pretty candid about it today that there's a high threat level at the Kabul airport. Many of the gates have been closed. U.S. civilians and citizens have been told not to attempt to go to any of the gates at all. Are you hearing anything more? I'm hearing initial reports. Are you hearing anything more about threats inbound to the gates and to that airport here imminently?
TOMLINSON: Just joining on air, Pete, the U.S. embassy in Kabul put out another warning, its second in three days, warning Americans at the three gates including the Abbey Gate where that suicide attack took place, warned Americans to, quote, leave immediately. And so --
HEGSETH: That was the same warning, Lucas, that we got that preceded the last attack, correct?
TOMLINSON: Correct. And that previous warning on Wednesday night, just hours before the suicide attack, named the gate where the attack took place, the Abbey Gate. Of course, General McKenzie, the head of U.S. forces in the Middle East and Afghanistan who helped plan this attack, he warned at the Pentagon yesterday to expect more attacks, that the modus operandi of ISIS-K is for more attacks. Not just with suicide bombers, potentially rockets. And so it's very chaotic, it's a very high threat environment. And the general was very clear, expect more attacks. That's why the Pentagon and the U.S. military went on the offensive to try to cut the head off the snake and to kill some of these planners. We'll see if there's more targets.
HEGSETH: You're exactly right, Lucas. General McKenzie was open about the fact that they can't rule out that the Taliban may have known about what passed through their gate. And so while they're relying upon the Taliban, there's no level of trust and no love lost.
I'm hearing reports also that the perimeter around the airport has been pushed out a little bit by the Taliban. I don't know necessarily what that means. Does that comport with what you've heard? And is there any increase or decrease of confidence in the Pentagon? Since we're almost entirely reliant now upon the Taliban to prevent ISIS-K or other groups from having these types of strikes, any change in their posture of what they think is possible?
TOMLINSON: U.S. military leaders have been telling the Taliban to push the perimeter back. You'll recall, it was just on Sunday that President Biden in an address to the nation said that he had negotiated a, quote-unquote, safe zone to push that perimeter back. It did not seem likely that it happened. And as you mentioned, Pete, ISIS has been blamed for the suicide attack, that suicide bomber went through a Taliban checkpoint, and the Haqqani Network does man some of these checkpoints. So while all the fingers are being pointed at ISIS and this drone strike, this retaliatory strike, the first one since the suicide attack killed 13 American service members, it's important to remind people that that ISIS fighter, that ISIS suicide bomber, went through a Taliban checkpoint. Was the Taliban checkpoint, were they complicit? Did they have knowledge of it? Did they let it go? We just don't know that right now.
HEGSETH: Lucas, as always, you provide a very important and glaring detail. The idea that a Taliban checkpoint would be manned by Haqqani, a designated terrorist organization whose bounty -- we have a bounty on his head -- what little incentive they would have to prevent something like that.
TOMLINSON: The deputy of the Taliban is a Haqqani member, Siraj Haqqani.
HEGSETH: Staggering to think where we are. But Lucas, thank you for bringing this information. U.S. drone strike in Nangarhar province killing an ISIS-K planner. Lucas Tomlinson all over it. We appreciate it. Thank you.
TOMLINSON: You bet.
HEGSETH: Joining me now on set is FOX News contributor and wounded warrior retired Marine Corps staff sergeant Joey Jones. Joey, you served in Afghanistan. You've sacrificed as much as anybody else. First, your reaction to this drone strike that we just got reports on in the THE INGRAHAM ANGLE. ISIS-K planner killed in Nangarhar province, over the horizon. Apparently an associate was there, no civilian casualties. But what impact do you think it has?
JOEY JONES, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think the first thing we do is take a little bit of a deep breath, because all of us have been screaming, why aren't we on the offensive in some way to at least establish a show of force so that we don't look like sitting ducks and posture ourselves that way? I think one thing that's nuanced in war that a lot of Americans don't understand is posturing. And I think that's where President Trump was really good. And following through, killing a few of them, wasn't a bad deal either. But posturing matters. Posturing is the enemy getting the courage to attack you yesterday.
HEGSETH: Is it almost psychological warfare?
JONES: A hundred precent, that's exactly what it is. But in this world, posturing also means you don't want to provoke your enemy. So I'm going to be as fair and judicious as possible right now to the Biden administration and military leaders. I have a lot of questions. The first thing to understand is this was not retaliation, it seems. This is prevention. This is to make sure -- this is taking a strike so that they think twice, or maybe even taking out the person planning their next strike. And that is the responsible thing to do. That's the right thing to do.
Obviously, we can wargame this and say, OK, well, if they had intelligence that something was going to happen and they told everybody to get away from the gate before that bomb went off, and they had enough intelligence to target and kill one of these guys, were we waiting on something to happen? The Bush doctrine is preemptive strike. We have intelligence. We're going to take you out. And I just hope that that's still part of our strategy. I'm not accusing them of one thing or the other, but if we have intelligence now, I hope they go and take out whoever they need to.
HEGSETH: It's a really interesting point, Joey. So if we had an intelligence -- piece of intelligence that went out right before the attack that killed our 11 Marines and one soldier and one Navy corpsman, and we're getting that same alert going out now, who is telling us? And when did they know? And why are we not able to action on that intelligence in real time to prevent that threat?
JONES: Maybe that's what tonight was. Like I said, I'm going to swing the door wide open.
HEGSETH: I think we all should.
JONES: I've been very critical and very frustrated, and quite honestly, very passionate personally. Hey, I appreciate the fact that we took action tonight. Maybe this is a display of the over the horizon capability Joe Biden has been bragging about. Fair enough. I understand you don't want to give all the secrets out. But sometimes it's easy to hide your incompetence by saying its op sec. So it's good that we've been skeptical.
I'm glad tonight we can see that there is a capability and I hope it continues to be used. I do not think this means we're going to go on the offensive. I think this is 100 preventing something else from happening so we can get out of there as soon as possible. I don't think this means that more Americans our in Afghanistan are going to be brought into Kabul or anything like that. I think it means we're going to try to keep the people that are at the airport now safe so they can leave.
HEGSETH: Joey, I don't think anyone has done more commentary over the last couple of weeks than you on the situation in Afghanistan. And you've covered it fantastically. What is your get check right now? We're three or four days away from this deadline. They're closing gates. Threat reports are coming out. We've dropped a bomb on an ISIS terrorist. But as you just calibrate where we are after all that we have been through and still the retrograde and getting our boys out is in front of us, what's your thought?
JONES: The hardest point of taking apart a bomb is the moment you're standing over it and you know what you have, and you're about to take action. Because in your mind you've got everything planned for and you know exactly what you're working with. But if the enemy did everything right, whatever you think you have, you have the opposite. So right when you take that first action, it's quiet, it's still. There's not a lot of noise. Everyone has pushed away. Then the next action you take either saves everybody's lives or takes yours. That's the moment we're in right now. That's the moment we're in right now. Pontificating or predicting isn't worth its salt. Praying is probably important, and trying to hold this administration accountable for what we believe is the right thing is important. And I hope everyone gets out safe.
HEGSETH: Well said. Joey Jones, thanks for joining us on some breaking news tonight. We appreciate it.
Stay with us throughout the hour please. Up next, two Republicans looking to hold the Biden administration accountable will join us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEGSETH: We are back with a FOX News alert. The U.S. military killing an ISIS-K planner near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. We're just learning new details. A U.S. Reaper drone flew to Afghanistan from a base in the Middle East to kill the ISIS-K planner who was plotting, they say, quote, future attacks on U.S. forces in Kabul a U.S. official tells FOX News. We will keep you updated throughout the hour as the situation develops.
Joining me now is South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman and Maryland Congressman Andy Harris, who is a former Navy Reserve medical officer. Gentlemen both, thank you so much for being here. Congressman Harris, I'll start with you. Your reaction of this killing of an ISIS-K fighter and where it puts us in Afghanistan.
REP. RALPH NORMAN, (R-SC) HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: It's just too little too late. The fact of the matter is this operation has been bungled. This won't retrieve that bungling. Look, we have still got a lot of Americans on the ground, a lot of our allies on the ground. I don't see any way we can be out by August 31st. And I think the president has to extend that deadline given what's happened over the last few days.
HEGSETH: You think, Representative Harris, real quick, you think he can't even meet the August 31 deadline. You're anticipating that logistically speaking, getting all U.S. troops out by then just isn't going to happen.
ANDY HARRIS, (R-MD) FORMER NAVY RESERVE MEDICAL OFFICER: That's right. We still have to get hundreds if not thousands of Americans out. We have to get our allies out, those who hold special immigrant visas and their families, and then we have to evacuate 5,000 troops and equipment. That's a tall order for four days.
HEGSETH: It sure is. Representative Norman, your take on this strike tonight.
NORMAN: Pete, look at what has happened. We've got 13 Americans dead, 20 injured. This administration is a toothless tiger. They don't trust him. If this were Donald Trump, the pure might of the military would be on the Taliban. It wouldn't even be a question. Biden has set arbitrary dates with no plan in place. And as a result, we have dead Americans, got 5,000 that are left there, and one drone strike killing one ISIS member? Really, it's an embarrassment. And I don't see anything coming of it because look as his actions, look at his record. That's why we're trying to hold Blinken and others accountable, because I don't know who he has taken advice from, but whatever advice it is, it's not good
HEGSETH: That's what we booked you to talk about tonight, Representative Norman, first and foremost was the idea that both of you, Representative Norman and Harris, are introducing articles of impeachment for Secretary of State Blinken. If I may, Representative Norman, why State first? Why Blinken? Why do you view that's the place where accountability should start?
NORMAN: He's secretary of state. On January 26th, he took an oath to defend the Constitution and protect the American people. He has failed in every respect. The problem he is, there's a timeline of events that took place starting with Biden started giving dates, starting with the embassy was evacuated 3,000 people on April 27th. On May 15th, he got a memo that it was dangerous over there and to get Americans out. Bagram on July 2nd which failed. We opened the prisons up to some of the most dangerous terrorists along with all of our equipment. And it's just been a disaster from day one.
And look at what look at what Mike Pompeo did for the years he was secretary of state. He gave briefings, and he had an action plan. Blinken simply in his role has failed. And that's why the disaster is there. And whether Biden listens to him or not, he should resign. And that's why Dr. Harris and I, we're going to impeach him. And let's put it to a vote and see what happens.
HEGSETH: Do you think you will get traction or this, Representative Harris? And do you think it should stop at State, or are there other officials you would look for accountability for as well?
HARRIS: First of all, there are very few things that we do on a bipartisan basis in Washington. But we on a bipartisan basis agree that this was entirely botched, that this withdrawal is a catastrophe. And most Americans don't realize, this was not a Department of Defense effort. The Department of State was running this withdrawal. They were the ones who didn't know where our Americans were. They were the ones who didn't have plans to evacuate everyone. They were the ones who allowed the military, some of the military to leave before we evacuated our Americans. This, the first and foremost falls squarely on the secretary who headed the department that was in charge of this withdrawal.
HEGSETH: Gentlemen, thank you very much. Please do keep us updated on this effort. We appreciate your time. Thank you.
NORMAN: Thank you.
HEGSETH: Still ahead, Lucas Tomlinson brings us the very latest on the U.S. retaliation against ISIS-K, and Joey Jones and Sean Parnell return with action. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEGSETH: Welcome back to THE INGRAHAM ANGLE on this breaking news night. We're continuing to cover the U.S. drone strike that killed an ISIS-K planner in Nangarhar province. I want to bring in Lucas Tomlinson at the Pentagon. Lucas, what do we know?
LUCAS TOMLINSON, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Pete, less than two days after that deadly suicide attack at the Kabul airport that killed 13 of our American service members and injured more than 20, the U.S. military has struck back, killing an ISIS planner in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan in Nangarhar province. It was a former hotbed of ISIS activity. It's where for years the joint special operations command launched dangerous raids, killing and just flushing out ISIS leadership.
But it's been allowed to regroup. In recent years they have launched a number of suicide attacks, not just against service members just a few days ago, but for years in Kabul killing Shia Muslims. But tonight the U.S. military has struck back. Just keep in mind, President Biden on Thursday vowed to -- he said we will hunt you down and make you pay. And the U.S. military just a day later, Major General Hank Taylor said we have options ready. Hank Taylor used to lead Task Force Long Knife in Afghanistan's Kandahar province just a decade ago, former Apache pilot. He knows a thing or two about killing Taliban and ISIS members.
But I'm told this was a U.S. Reaper drone that flew from the Al Dhafra Air Force Base in the United Arab Emirates, flew, of course you're not going to fly around Iran. You're going to fly around into the Arabian Sea over Pakistan, that air corridor. But tonight, an ISIS planner who is thought to be carrying out future attacks against American troops before they leave August 31st, that ISIS planner is dead. Pete?
HEGSETH: That's good news. A bit of a reminder of their reach as well, because it's not just Nangarhar province. We're getting alerts right now from the State Department to U.S. citizens and others to avoid the gates around the Kabul airport. Or do we know that that is because of a specific ISIS-K bombing threat.
TOMLINSON: That's exactly why this planner was taking out. There was a lot of fears that there would be more attacks. You remember General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of the U.S. forces in the Middle East and Afghanistan just warned in a press conference here at the Pentagon that ISIS would be carrying out more attacks in addition to that deadly suicide attack. Remember, just the night before that attack on Wednesday night, the State Department alerted a similar warning, telling Americans to leave the gates, including the Abbey Gate where that suicide attack took place. Now tonight another warning from the U.S. embassy about an imminent attack. So there's now question this ISIS-K planner is part of that, and he's been taken out tonight, and hopefully any future attacks are thwarted. But it's still a very dangerous situation, and there's still over 5,000 U.S. troops on the ground at the Kabul in a city of 4.5 million people.
HEGSETH: And surrounded by the Taliban. Thinking about every single one of them tonight. Lucas, thanks for the great reporting. We appreciate it. You'll be a busy man.
HEGSETH: Back with me are Afghan war vets Sean Parnell and Joey Jones. Gentlemen, thanks for sticking around for us for the hour here. Sean, let me ask a question of you that I asked to Joey just moments ago, because you've been doing a ton of commentary on this war as well. In light of this new information, which is good news, an ISIS planner is dead, what is your get check where we are right now, 5,000 soldiers at the air field surrounded by the Taliban, having had an ISIS attack already killing 13 of our boys with threats of others to come. We killed one of them, but the Taliban is still in control. If you were to play it forward, what are you feeling right now?
SEAN PARNELL, (R) PENNSYLVANIA U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm feeling heartbroken for the veterans who served in that country for 20 years. They fought, they bled, they sacrificed not just for the Afghan people but for this country and for each other. And as I said earlier in the program, Joe Biden threw it away in eight months of his presidency.
In times of crisis, this country deserves leaders who are involved and not detached. And since the beginning of this crisis in Afghanistan, it seemed like President Biden was wholly unaware of what was going on, didn't approach the situation with much empathy, and he quite frankly, he felt detached to me. He didn't take anything but pre-scripted questions from the press. He bungled this from the moment. It's been one mistake after the next, whether it's abandoning Bagram Air Force Base in the middle of the night without doing a proper battle handover, to pulling our military out while leaving thousands of civilians behind, while allowing the Taliban to protect our troops as we exit that country and pave the way for American citizens to get to Hamid Karzai airport.
Everything about this seems fundamentally wrong. And my heart breaks for the people who served in that country, and my heart breaks nor the Afghans and Americans who are still trapped in Afghanistan.
HEGSETH: Sean, really well-said. I want to play a sound, Joey, and get you to respond, and Sean, possibly you as well, if we have time. You characterized it one way. This is how the State Department spokesman Ned Price is characterizing it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NED PRICE, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: This has been a highly effective operation when it comes to the evacuation. You need look no further than, again, the metric that matters, and that is 110,600 people through U.S. military and coalition flights since August 14th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: Joey, highly effective operation?
JONES: I don't know when that happened, but if that happened after yesterday's bombing --
HEGSETH: Today.
JONES: If you determine the metric that matters, the metric that matters are 13 lives of our heroes are dead. And I don't know what the count is now, but it's well over 100 Afghan innocent civilians that we were in charge of protecting in that moment are dead. And so to no have anymore situational awareness than that -- listen. I don't know what it is about this administration for hiring dudes that have a face you want to punch, but that's a different scenario. You get mad just watching that dude talk, right?
(LAUGHTER)
JONES: But just to go back to where we are with this ISIS-K, if felt a lot like a sleight of hand. Like don't worry about the Taliban. Look over here. But I was reading a "New York Post" article today about ISIS-K. and I think the thing that Americans need to understand is these are Taliban fighters that decided to, that essentially al-Baghdadi, who is now dead thanks to Trump, sent a lieutenant down to recruit these folks because they were a little bit more radical than what the Taliban were ready to do at the moment. These are Taliban fighters that have joined a different group. They were in the low thousands. And President Trump, the ones he didn't kill he had in jail. That's why we haven't heard about this organization much.
And so the point there is, OK, President Biden, you're telling me that this over the horizon capability is your way of handling this. President Trump did it with a few thousand troops in Afghanistan. Show me you can do the same thing with no troops in Afghanistan. Here's your moment, President Biden. Do your job. Kill these folks, and get our people home safe, and we'll hit the reset button and reassess. Up until this point you've only gotten us killed, and that doesn't work.
HEGSETH: Sean Parnell, 20 seconds.
PARNELL: Why does that guy still have a job? Why does Secretary of Defense Austin still have a job? Why does Milley still have a job? It's not like leaving Afghanistan was a secret. There are 13 American families here in this country that are having the worst day of their lives, and that guy has the gall to say not that big of a deal. It's a very successful operation. It's a joke. Why does he still have a job?
HEGSETH: That's a good question. Maybe we'll find out in the coming days. Sean, Joey, thank you so much for being with us tonight. We appreciate it.
That is all the time we have tonight. I'm Pete Hegseth in for Laura Ingraham. Catch me tomorrow and Sunday morning on FOX & FRIENDS WEEKEND. Now, Greg Gutfeld.
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