Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted Tuesday that he does not know whether a man targeted by a U.S. drone strike in the United States’ …
Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted Tuesday that he does not know whether a man targeted by a U.S. drone strike in the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan was an aid worker or a terrorist. Blinken sat in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday to testify over the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) pressed Blinken on the identity of the man killed in a retaliatory U.S. strike meant for a purported member of ISIS-K. Blinken said that the investigation into the drone strike was still ongoing and that he did not know the identity of the man killed. “The guy the Biden administration droned, was he an aid worker or an ISIS-K operative?” Paul asked. Blinken responded, “the administration is of course reviewing that strike and I’m sure a full assessment will be forthcoming.” “So you don’t know if it was an aid worker or an ISIS-K operative?” Paul pressed. Blinken said, “I can’t speak to that and I can’t speak to that in this setting in any event.” Paul added, “so you don’t know or won’t tell us.” “I don’t know because we’re reviewing it,” Blinken answered. Paul, who had previously pressed Blinken over the Biden administration’s conditional offer to send aid money to Afghanistan, ripped into Blinken over the Biden administration’s series of failures amid the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
