Rand Paul Grills Blinken Over Kabul Airstrike That Reportedly Killed Civilians: ‘So You Don’t Know’ Who We Droned?

Senator Rand Paul interrogated Secretary of State Antony Blinken over reports that the U.S.’ last airstrike before pulling out of Afghanistan killed civilians instead of a suspected ISIS-K target.

Blinken faced questions from Paul on Tuesday over the course of his testimony on Afghanistan before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. At one point, Paul turned his focus toward the August 29th drone strike where U.S. officials claimed that multiple suicide bombers were killed while they were en route to Hamid Karzai International Airport.

Paul: “The guy the Biden administration droned, was he an aid worker or an ISIS-K operative?”

Blinken: “The administration is, of course, reviewing that strike. I’m sure that a full assessment will be forthcoming.”

Paul: “So you don’t know if it was an aid worker or an ISIS-K operative?”

Blinken: “I can’t speak to that and I can’t speak to that in this setting in any event.”

Paul: “So you don’t know or won’t tell us?”

Blinken: “I don’t know because we’re reviewing it.”

Paul was referring to the fact that in the days following the drone strike on a vehicle in Kabul, multiple outlets released analyses questioning whether it was really carrying explosives for ISIS-K. The New York Times and the Washington Post both reported that the driver was Zemari Ahmadi, an engineer who worked with the U.S.-based nonprofit: Nutrition and Education International.

The reports raise the possibility that as the U.S. Military was watching Ahmadi’s movements that day, they mistakenly assumed the canisters he had in his vehicle to transport water were actually carrying explosives. When the missile struck his vehicle, Ahmadi was reportedly killed along with 2 other adults and 7 children.

Since Blinken couldn’t say who was killed in that strike, Paul remarked that “you’d think you’d kinda know [who Ahmadi was] before you off somebody with a predator drone.” He also warned that this incident could encourage a new generation of terrorists if the wrong people were bombed.

“If you killed an aid worker on accident, do you think we’re better off because of that?” Paul asked. He went on by making the argument that the U.S. should’ve instead blown up the military equipment that was left behind in Afghanistan, even though at least some of it is said to have been disabled.

Watch above, via CSPAN.

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