That is why I ordered the investigation to find the truth. It also confirms the age old fact that the battlefield is a confusing and contradictory place, and it gets more confusing the closer you are to the actual action. The fact that this investigation has contradicted our first impression demonstrates to me that the team went into this investigation with an open mind in search of the truth. We now know that the explosively fired ball bearings caused wounds that looked like gunshots, and when combined with a small number of warning shots, that led many to assume that a complex attack had occurred. At the time, the best information we had in the immediate aftermath of the attack indicated that it was a complex attack by both a suicide bomber and ISIS-K gunmen. This conclusion was also confirmed by the findings and analysis of medical examiners and explosive experts, a review of all available physical evidence, and a review of all available video evidence, including an MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle which began observing the scene about three minutes after the attack.Īt this point I want to acknowledge that the investigation differs from what we initially believed on the day of the attack. This conclusion was based upon the careful consideration of sworn testimony of more than 100 witnesses, and especially those witnesses in observation towers, both American and British, who were in locations unaffected by the blast and that had commanding views of the scene before, during and after the explosive attack. The investigation found no definitive proof that anyone was ever hit or killed by gunfire, either U.S. servicemembers who were killed and wounded, despite the universal wear of body armor and helmets that did stop ball bearings that impacted them but could not prevent catastrophic injuries to areas not covered. The disturbing lethality of this device was confirmed by the 58 U.S. servicemembers by explosively directing ball bearings through a packed crowd and into our men and women at Abbey Gate. MCKENZIE: The investigation found that a single explosive device killed at least 170 Afghan civilians and 13 U.S. The volume of evidence collected, the testimony of more than 100 people, the analysis of experts, the findings of fact, and the conclusions of the team based upon that evidence gives a compelling and truthful examination of the event. I found the brief you are about to receive to be powerful and moving. I found the results of the team's work comprehensive, credible and definitive. This brief will provide great context on the situation at Abbey Gate leading up to and during the attack as well as the aftermath. While the majority of this detailed brief will be conducted by the investigating team who searched for the facts and interviewed more than 100 people, I wanted to take a moment at the beginning to provide my thoughts on the investigation and what the team determined. We have completed our solemn duty of informing surviving family members about the results of the investigation and we're now providing it to the public in order to better inform you of the facts surrounding this tragic loss of life. We're with you today to brief the results of the investigation that I directed into the ISIS-K bombing at Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport that occurred on 26 August 2021 that caused the deaths of 11 Marines, 1 soldier, and 1 sailor. MCKENZIE JR.: Thank you and good afternoon, everybody. With that, I'll direct your attention to General Frank McKenzie. And we will hold questions until the end. Our first two speakers, General McKenzie and Lieutenant General Clark, will frame today's brief and then we will hear from the investigation team. I would add ask that you please introduce yourself and name your news organization at the start of your question. Just a couple notes at the top, we have press both here in the room with us and on the phone.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |