Sure he does (FoxNews)

Did President Joe Biden claim that the agreement that Trump made with the Taliban to with withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan stipulate that they still could attack our allies, such as NATO partners Germany and France?

I couldn’t believe my ears, so I went back to check the transcript:

Joe Biden: (33:31)

I bare responsibility for fundamentally all that’s happened of late. But here’s the deal, you know I’m wishing one day to say these things. You know as well as I do that the former President made a deal with the Taliban that he would get all American forces out of Afghanistan by May 1. In return, the commitment was made, and that was a year before, in return, he [Trump] was given a commitment that the Taliban would continue to attack others but would not attack any American forces. Remember that? I’m being serious. I’m asking you a question because before-

Speaker 5: (34:19) [inaudible 00:34:19].

Joe Biden: (34:20) No, no, no, wait a minute. I’m asking you a question. Is that accurate, to the best of your knowledge?

Speaker 5: (34:25) [inaudible 00:34:25] be interested, do you think that people have an issue with pulling out of Afghanistan or the just the way that things have happened? [Emphasis added.]

I included the context above, hoping that it would answer the question. Obviously, it didn’t. I also checked the Trump agreement to see if there is language like that. (Here and here.) I couldn’t find it.

My guess is that Biden misspoke, not for the first time. But if the meaning was not that the Taliban were free to attack Canadian, French, German, or whatever troops were there, who was Biden talking about?

The most likely meaning was that the Taliban could attack other terrorist groups that would vie for control of the country. Like ISIS-K? Like Al-Qaeda? Like the terrorists–whoever they are–that the Taliban allowed within the airport perimeter to kill more than 100 U.S. troops and Afghans? Unless our partner in the pullout–the Taliban themselves whom we trust to help us evacuate–set off the bomb.

Why did Biden make the assertion in the first place? To cast even more blame on Trump? (He deserves it for initiating what I call a surrender in the first place.) To cast blame that the “buck stops here president” on everyone else?

I imagine that Biden’s puppeteers gritted their teeth when their Pinocchio returns to the podium to try to humiliate the questioner, Peter Doocy from FoxNews.

That staff no doubt is relieved that no reporter followed up to clarify this. But I image our NATO partners rushed to their phones to ask, “What the hell?!”