Biden supports ‘thorough investigation’ into botched Afghan drone strike

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President Joe Biden supports an investigation into the August drone strike that killed 10 civilians and up to seven children in Afghanistan, the White House said Monday.

Explaining during the White House press briefing that Biden was briefed Friday morning regarding the Pentagon’s report about the strike, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “I would say, first, the president’s view – and all of our view – is that the loss of any civilian life is a tragedy.”

Psaki went on to reiterate comments from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie that the drone strike was “done in error,” and affirmed that “clearly, the investigation that will continue is something the president broadly supports.”

“As a human being, as a president, as someone who has overseen loss in a variety of scenarios, both as a leader and personally, his reaction is it’s a tragedy and every loss is a tragedy and he supports the effort to move this forward as quickly as possible and to have a thorough investigation,” she added.

Psaki would not say if anyone would be fired or otherwise held accountable for the drone strike, which the Pentagon initially claimed had killed ISIS-K “planners and facilitators” of the Aug. 26 suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.

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When asked about potential consequences for those responsible, Psaki said, “I think what’s important is that the secretary of defense and the chairman and Gen. Mackenzie came forward and made very clear that this was, they wanted to see this move forward quickly. They want it to be as transparent as possible. They wanted to learn from what had happened.”

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Psaki also advised Americans to note that the strike was made amid threats from ISIS-K against U.S. troops.

“Obviously, it was done in error. And obviously, there was a horrific tragedy that happened. But I’m not going to predict what the impact will be,” she said.