Remember just weeks ago when we were treated to the news that a U.S. drone strike killed a senior Al-Qaeda leader?

US Central Command targets Senior Al Qaeda Leader in strike in Northwest Syria pic.twitter.com/xrSespGOMq

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 3, 2023

And there were cheers all around! Another terrorist dude is dead so let’s all celebrate! 

But now, there’s a different story. The backpedal has begun, and it’s infuriating. Instead of a senior al-Qaeda official, the man killed was Lotfi Hassan Misto, a former bricklayer, a sheepherder, and father of ten children. 

“We are no longer confident we killed a senior AQ official,” one official said. The other, offering a slightly different view, said “though we believe the strike did not kill the original target, we believe the person to be al-Qaeda.” Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss preliminary determinations of an ongoing investigation into the incident.

In the weeks since the attack, U.S. military officials have refused to identify publicly who their target was, how the apparent error occurred, whether a legitimate terrorist leader escaped and why some in the Pentagon maintain Misto was a member of al-Qaeda despite his family’s denials.

Read those statements again. The original target is still alive, but HEY! we are pretty sure Misto was a terrorist, we hope. 

Seriously??!! What the hell was Centcomm doing or thinking when the drone strike was ordered? Did they THINK to quadruple check the intelligence and listen to those who were monitoring that very senior al-Qaeda terrorist? Did someone take the ball and run with it so Grandpa Joe could get on the TV again and announce another win? That wouldn’t surprise me one bit given how much failing has been happening in just the last couple of months. 

Keep in mind, there were rumors that a civilian was killed. Rumors that the Washington Post reported on at the time. 

Maj. John Moore, a CENTCOM spokesperson, said Tuesday that U.S. forces “are in the process of confirming the identity of the individual killed in the strike.”

“We are aware of the allegations of a civilian casualty and the outcome of the confirmation process will inform if further investigation is necessary and how it should proceed,” he said.

Is it any wonder that CENTCOMM has stayed super quiet about identifying the terrorist who was supposedly vaporized? They can’t name the dude now, otherwise they’ll never be able to catch him. 

Except that he got away and it’s looking very likely that a Syrian civilian was droned by mistake. Which is NOT the first time the Biden Administration has made a fatal drone mistake. There was one other. 

That mistake was the drone strike outside Kabul airport during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal that ended up with hundreds injured and thirteen American soldiers killed. That drone strike didn’t take out any Taliban terrorists. Nope. That drone strike killed an innocent family including seven children. 

The Afghanistan withdrawal was a huge debacle, and I can completely understand the thousands of pieces of information flowing that everyone was trying to make sense of. Yet the question remains, who among the leadership took the info and pushed for a decision without making sure they had ALL the information? We won’t know because the Biden Administration believes they don’t have to tell us. 

Now we have another terrorist who…isn’t dead. A civilian is, who CENTCOMM leadership kind of insists that Misto really probably sort of was a member of al-Qaeda. 

Last year a senior al-Qaeda terrorist was blitzed in Kabul. Biden made the announcement. 

Now I have to ask, is Zawahiri REALLY dead? It’s a fair question given this current backpedal by DoD officials. 

On Biden's watch:

*drone kills 7 Afghani kids
*13 Marines murdered in disastrous Afghan w/drawal
*China spy balloon floats across America; Pentagon lies about earlier balloons
*Airman leaks war documents after numerous warnings
*Vaccine mandate
*Now this pic.twitter.com/hbSFyqhpv9

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) May 19, 2023

Yes, the Biden Administration lied about drone attacks during the withdrawal, they lied about the spy balloons, key Pentagon info was leaked, and now this backpedal. 

Will ANYONE in leadership pay consequences for making the decision to act rather than ensure they had the RIGHT terrorist in their sights? 

HTS, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, was affiliated with al-Qaeda but broke ties in 2016 and has since removed anyone from the area who does not agree with its viewpoints, the experts said.

Even if a few al-Qaeda leaders are still on the ground in Idlib province, Drevon said, “they literally can’t act since HTS has forbidden them from conducting any military activities. All of them are surviving underground or living on the run. They know well that HTS can arrest them at any time.”

OH. So it’s looking like leadership made the decision to pull the trigger while ignoring very relevant information. That’s just swell. 

Just another day with adults back in the White House. Absolute cluster f https://t.co/IFr17MTAJp

— Mark Conroy (@VailKillroy) May 19, 2023

Our country is run by clowns right now. 

Feature Photo Credit: Pixabay, cropped and modified, Pixabay license