On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” host Jake Tapper stated that after spending days refusing to specifically answer questions on camera on whether the Kabul airport attack could have been prevented by either taking out the bomber or striking ISIS-K while they were planning the attack, the Pentagon finally gave them a statement on the issue on Friday afternoon.
Tapper began the segment by discussing the pleas from Gold Star families who lost family members in the attack for more information about the attack. Tapper then pointed to previous claims in testimony that the bomber could have been taken out and other claims that an ISIS-K staging ground could have been hit with strikes before the attack and showed video of CNN asking the Pentagon about these claims at press briefings. After this discussion of claims that the Kabul attack could have been prevented, Tapper said, “Now, for the last couple of days, we’ve been reaching out to the Biden administration to get reaction and for a guest, anyone who would be willing to answer some of the questions that we posed in this piece on camera. They declined, but minutes ago, the Pentagon did give us an extensive statement.”
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