OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Joe Biden has been hit with an accusation that he killed the wrong man, and a family of 10 Afghans that included seven children, in an attempt to strike Islamic State fighters.
All of the details are not in yet and we do not know whether or not this is what actually happened, but a detailed report in the New York Times laid out the case.
The evidence from the Times suggests that the Biden administration mistook Zemari Ahmadi, a “longtime worker for a U.S. aid group,” when they witnessed him “and a colleague loading canisters of water into his trunk to bring home to his family.”
“We obtained exclusive footage to identify the last movements of Zemari Ahmadi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in #Kabul. Running office errands & loading canisters of water into his car, the military might have misinterpreted his actions,” Times reporter Christoph Koettl said.
We obtained exclusive footage to identify the last movements of Zemari Ahmadi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in #Kabul. Running office errands & loading canisters of water into his car, the military might have misinterpreted his actions.
https://t.co/1Snk3kUq1J— Christoph Koettl (@ckoettl) September 10, 2021
“The strike killed the 43-year-old Ahmadi, who worked for a U.S. based organization, and 9 of his family members. The military knew little about him, incl. where he worked or lived. They followed his white Toyota because they claimed he went to an ISIS safehouse that morning,” the reporter said.
The strike killed the 43-year-old Ahmadi, who worked for a U.S. based organization, and 9 of his family members. The military knew little about him, incl. where he worked or lived. They followed his white Toyota because they claimed he went to an ISIS safehouse that morning.
— Christoph Koettl (@ckoettl) September 10, 2021
“We see that car repeatedly in security camera footage from the office where Ahmadi worked. We verified the footage and accounted for the wrong camera settings by visiting the office and matching a specific scene with a satellite image from the day of the strike,” he said.
The footage matches what his co-workers told us: that it was a regular day for Ahmadi, incl. regular trips to and from the office. Crucial: We see him fill up several canisters of water to put into the trunk of his car before heading home. pic.twitter.com/zNACfrGohX
— Christoph Koettl (@ckoettl) September 10, 2021
“Co-workers who drove with him that day told us they got in the car around 4pm. They all denied putting explosives into a car they were commuting home in. Instead, they said they only put laptop bags into the car. And that the trunk was full with water canisters,” Koettl said.
Co-workers who drove with him that day told us they got in the car around 4pm. They all denied putting explosives into a car they were commuting home in. Instead, they said they only put laptop bags into the car. And that the trunk was full with water canisters.
— Christoph Koettl (@ckoettl) September 10, 2021
“Around the same time, the Pentagon says analysts watching a drone video observed 4 men carefully loading wrapped packages into the car. They couldn’t tell what was inside. Saying he posed an imminent threat, they fired a Hellfire missile when he returned to his home,” he said.
Around the same time, the Pentagon says analysts watching a drone video observed 4 men carefully loading wrapped packages into the car. They couldn’t tell what was inside. Saying he posed an imminent threat, they fired a Hellfire missile when he returned to his home.
— Christoph Koettl (@ckoettl) September 10, 2021
“The military did not know this was his home, and have not watched it during the day. was his home Ten people were killed, including 7 children, according to the family. The Pentagon has not released any specific evidence on the U.S. strike, including drone surveillance footage,” he said in his Twitter thread.
The military did not know this was his home, and have not watched it during the day. was his home Ten people were killed, including 7 children, according to the family. The Pentagon has not released any specific evidence on the U.S. strike, including drone surveillance footage.
— Christoph Koettl (@ckoettl) September 10, 2021
“Weapons experts who reviewed photos and videos from the scene could not find evidence of the multiple, large-scale explosions that the Pentagon described,” he said.
Weapons experts who reviewed photos and videos from the scene could not find evidence of the multiple, large-scale explosions that the Pentagon described. https://t.co/iziVUunLFe pic.twitter.com/4H4QpU8DNs
— Christoph Koettl (@ckoettl) September 10, 2021
It could be that the family and friends of the victim are lying and that he was a terrorist, but the evidence indicates that was not the case.
“Military officials said they did not know the identity of the car’s driver when the drone fired, but deemed him suspicious because of how they interpreted his activities that day, saying that he possibly visited an ISIS safe house and, at one point, loaded what they thought could be explosives into the car,” the Times said.
Biden officials described “substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties.”
Statement from U.S. Central Command
"We know that there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties."https://t.co/PgPaWBcswe pic.twitter.com/BAKt5hZo79
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) August 30, 2021
But The Times’ report indicates that the administration either lied or made a serious mistake.
“[A]n examination of the scene of the strike, conducted by the Times visual investigations team and a Times reporter the morning afterward, and followed up with a second visit four days later, found no evidence of a second, more powerful explosion,” it said in the report.
“Experts who examined photos and videos pointed out that, although there was clear evidence of a missile strike and subsequent vehicle fire, there were no collapsed or blown-out walls, no destroyed vegetation, and only one dent in the entrance gate, indicating a single shock wave,” it said.
You may remember the incident from when the Biden administration claimed that it struck high-ranking members of ISIS but never named who those members were.
The Biden administration still claims that the strike was appropriate and that terrorists were killed.
“Two well-placed U.S. military sources [say] that the U.S. Central Command remains confident that the strike was based on accurate intelligence that showed the person in the car had bad intent, and that an investigation is underway into how many civilians were killed,” Fox News said on Friday.