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The deadly Aug. 26 bombing outside the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service members was carried out by a single bomber, a Pentagon investigation found.
We’ll detail the investigation and what officials found, plus the latest in the saga over a former Pentagon chief and his lawsuit with the Pentagon.
For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. Send me tips at emitchell@digital-release.thehill.com
Let’s get to it.
One suicide bomber behind attack that killed 13 US forces
The deadly Aug. 26 bombing outside the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service members was carried out by a single bomber and was not a “complex” attack as U.S. officials first thought, according to a Pentagon investigation into the blast.
Officials found the bomber detonated an explosive containing ball bearings, killing at least 170 Afghan civilians in addition to the service members, as they approached the Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport, U.S. Central Command head Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told reporters Friday.
Different findings: McKenzie acknowledged the findings were different from what officials initially believed, which was that the attack used two bombs and gunmen.
“At the time, the best information we had in the immediate aftermath of the attack indicated that it was a complex attack by both a suicide bomber and ISIS-K gunman,” McKenzie said. “We now know that the explosively fired ball bearings cause wounds that look like gunshots and when combined with a small number of warning shots, that led many to assume that a complex attack had occurred.”
He added: “the battlefield is a confusing and contradictory place and it gets more confusing the closer you are to the actual action.”
Piecing together events: Eleven Marines, one Army soldier and one Navy sailor were killed in the blast that was claimed by ISIS in Khorasan and took place in the final, chaotic days of the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan.
Investigators pieced together the events of the day after interviewing more than 100 American and British witnesses, scrutinizing the findings and analysis of medical examiners and explosive experts, and reviewing all available video evidence which included a drone that began observing the scene roughly three minutes after the attack, McKenzie said.
‘Not preventable’: At their conclusion, investigators found the bombing was “not preventable,” according Army Brig. Gen. Lance Curtis, who took part in the investigation and briefed reporters after McKenzie’s remarks.
“Based upon our investigation at the tactical level, this was not preventable. And the leaders on the ground followed the proper measures,” Curtis said.
How did it happen?: Investigators told reporters it was “highly likely” the bomber was able to reach Abbey Gate by using an alternate route and was not stopped because they bypassed Taliban checkpoints.
Afghans trying to flee the country were increasingly using such alternate routes in the final days of the evacuation as the Taliban would turn away or beat civilians trying to make it past their checkpoints.
As the U.S. military’s Aug. 31 deadline approached and people became more desperate to leave, Abbey Gate became significantly more crowded. The issue was exacerbated by other gates being closed, investigators said.
Instant chaos: One investigator said several factors contributed to the initial belief that the attack was complex, including “the fog of war and disorientation due to blast effects,” and the warning shots which created an “echo effect.”
In addition, service members had been carrying tear gas in canisters which were punctured by the ball bearings in the blast, releasing the chemical into the air.
“Plainly put, the blast created instant chaos and sensory overload,” they said.
Esper drops suit against Pentagon over memoir dispute
Esper’s attorney Mark Zaid on Friday filed a motion for voluntary dismissal of the case, indicating that the parties “stipulate to dismiss” the action. The motion did not provide further insight into the decision.
Some movement: But Zaid suggested the Pentagon had moved on some of Esper’s demands.
In an emailed statement to The Hill, Zaid said that because of the “success” of the litigation, the memoir will be published as scheduled with “minimal redactions” that “will not disturb the flow of reading the book.”
“The state of the law is clear: the U.S. Government has absolutely no authority to prevent anyone from publishing unclassified information. That is an incontrovertible constitutional right and established by binding precedent,” Zaid said in an emailed statement.
Esper’s tenure: Esper served as Defense Secretary from June 2019 until then-President Trump abruptly fired him in November 2020, days after the 2020 presidential election. He was succeeded by Christopher Miller, who served as acting secretary for the remainder of Trump’s term.
Timing: The move to dismiss the case comes roughly four months after the former Defense chief initially filed the suit in late November alleging that the Pentagon was unlawfully blocking parts of his upcoming book “A Sacred Oath.”
The book, which is due to be published in May, details his time as Defense Secretary in what he describes as a “tumultuous second half of the Trump administration.”
What the Pentagon wanted: Zaid said that the Pentagon wanted to redact “significant swaths” of content on over 50 pages of his book, which “absolutely gutted substantive content and important storylines.”
In his suit, Esper said he submitted the manuscript of the book around May 24, 2021 for mandatory pre-publication review. On Oct. 7, the agency’s Office of Pre-publication and Security Review (DoDOPSR) sent Esper pages that had to be amended for his book to receive full approval.
A broken system?: Zaid added that the pre-publication classification review system is “clearly broken,” particularly when “the existence of litigation compels the Defendant to reverse its position on an overwhelming majority of classification decisions it earlier asserted were so vital to the national security interests of the United States, when the fact is they never were.”
ON TAP FOR MONDAY
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves for the Indo-Pacific and will travel to Australia, Fiji and Hawaii from Feb. 7 to 13 “to engage with Indo-Pacific allies and partners to advance peace, resilience, and prosperity across the region and demonstrate that these partnerships deliver,” per the State Department.
- State Department Counselor Derek Chollet leaves for Europe to lead an interagency delegation to Bulgaria, Romania and Belgium from Feb. 7 to 11 “to engage with our partners in Europe on a range of issues, and to consult with NATO Allies and the European Union partners on Russian aggression towards Ukraine,” per the State Department.
- German Marshall Fund of the United States will host a conversation with Latvia’s Defense Minister H.E. Artis Pabriks on Implications for NATO, at 9 a.m.
- The Center for Strategic and International Studies will hold a talk on “Complex Air Defense: Countering the Hypersonic Missile Threat” at 10 a.m.
- The Hudson Institute will host a discussion on “Righting the Ship: Restoring American Seapower in Tough Times,” with Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), at 12 p.m.
- The Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies will discuss “New Challenges to Transatlantic and European Security,” at 12:30 p.m.
- Exchange Monitor will host its “Nuclear Deterrence Summit,” beginning at 1 p.m.
- The Center for Strategic and International Studies will have experts preview the Fiscal Year 2023 Defense budget request at 2 p.m.
WHAT WE’RE READING
- US official urges China not to ‘look the other way’ on Russia’s threats to Ukraine
- French president, German chancellor to visit Russia, Ukraine as tensions rise
- Putin, Xi present united front on NATO expansion at Olympics
- Lawmakers introduce bill to rename Taiwan office in Washington
- New Ambassador Rahm Emanuel meets with Japanese prime minister, reaffirms alliance
- Lawmakers emerge from Russia-Ukraine briefings bracing for invasion
Well, that’s it for today! Check out The Hill’s defense and national security pages for the latest coverage. See you on Monday.