Biden’s Withdrawal Policy from Afghanistan Leads to Deadly ISIS Attack

The chaotic events surrounding President Joe Biden’s withdrawal policy from Afghanistan have reached a tragic conclusion. In August 2021, following the Taliban takeover of Kabul and their return to power, an Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) suicide bomber detonated explosives near Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA), killing thirteen U.S. service members and hundreds more Afghans shortly after the withdrawal deadline was met.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction provided a timeline of events leading up to this attack, noting that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled on August 15th as Taliban forces entered Kabul. However, the “Abbey Gate” bombing occurred eleven days later and represented the worst security incident during the withdrawal process.

This tragedy unfolded despite repeated assurances from officials that evacuations would be safe and orderly. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) admitted many of these evacuees without conducting proper vetting procedures, according to a DHS inspector general report released in January 2023.

The consequences continued months after the deadly attack at HKIA. In September 2024, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi entered the United States under a special immigrant visa program and pleaded guilty six months later to two terrorism-related offenses: conspiring with his brother-in-law Abdullah Haji Zada to provide material support to ISIS in advance of the presidential election.

Tawhedi admitted that he intended “to kill as many people as possible” through this conspiracy. According to court filings, they planned to obtain firearms for use in a terrorist attack on Election Day pending adjudication of his immigration proceedings. Even more alarming is Zada’s background: he entered the U.S. before Biden became president under the same program, having received permanent resident status shortly after joining the CIA-backed Afghan National Army unit in Kandahar.

These cases illustrate what critics have long warned about regarding President Joe Biden’s handling of security matters following Afghanistan’s collapse and the Taliban’s return to power on August 15th.