House Speaker Mike Johnson criticised the Harris-Biden administration on Wednesday for mishandling the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and allowing tens of thousands of migrants into the country. One of these migrants allegedly planned an ISIS-inspired Election Day terror attack. Johnson stated on X that “over 77,000 Afghans were granted humanitarian parole with minimal vetting and no intention to track their whereabouts”. He highlighted Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, accused of plotting the attack, as an example.
Tawhedi, 27, was charged by the Justice Department on Tuesday with conspiring and attempting to support ISIS. The Afghan national entered the US with a Special Immigrant Visa shortly after the US withdrawal. This visa provided Afghan refugees with two years of legal status and the option to apply for extensions. While on humanitarian parole, Tawhedi allegedly amassed weapons, communicated with an ISIS recruiter, and began liquidating his family’s assets to prepare for a mass shooting on 5 November with a juvenile accomplice.
Johnson argued that the administration’s policies endanger American lives by allowing dangerous individuals into the country. Former Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf pointed out on X that during the hurried evacuation from Afghanistan, the DHS Office of Inspector General found evacuee information to be “inaccurate, incomplete, or missing”. Wolf noted that DHS admitted evacuees who were “not fully vetted”.
Left: Boris Johnson, “Leaving Afghanistan was a total, moral, political and strategic defeat for the west”
Right: Head of MI5 says there are increasing threats from, including, Afghanistan
Boris Johnson was Prime Minister when the US along with the UK pulled out of Afghanistan… pic.twitter.com/ulN6Ib68A4
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) October 8, 2024
Representative Randy Weber criticised the administration for its failure to properly vet Afghan migrants in 2021. He suggested that the federal government should have fulfilled its duty to thoroughly vet the 77,000 Afghans resettled in the US. Weber accused Vice President Kamala Harris of failing to protect communities by allowing potentially dangerous individuals to enter the country.
Representative Tom Tiffany expressed concerns that other unvetted Special Immigrant Visa recipients might have ISIS sympathies. He questioned how many more such individuals might be present in neighbourhoods across the US. The Justice Department’s announcement of Tawhedi’s arrest coincided with a warning from the head of the UK’s domestic spy agency about the ongoing threat posed by ISIS. MI5 Director General Ken McCallum stated on Tuesday that ISIS remains a significant concern despite being weakened in recent years.
On the 2024 campaign trail, former President Donald Trump has frequently taken credit for significantly weakening ISIS during his tenure. During Trump’s administration, US forces killed then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an October 2019 raid in Northwestern Syria. Tawhedi, who allegedly had a photo of al-Baghdadi on his phone, now faces up to 20 years in prison.
What Other Media Are Saying
- House Republicans release a scathing report blaming President Biden’s administration for the chaotic Afghan withdrawal, while minimizing Trump’s role and focusing on security over optics.(read more)
- NPR reports on a House Foreign Affairs Committee report criticizing Biden’s handling of Afghanistan withdrawal, accusing him of prioritizing “optics” over safety, while Democrats dispute the findings.(read more)
- CBS News reports Republicans criticize Biden administration for misleading public and prioritizing optics over safety during chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, accusing officials of moral negligence and ignoring security warnings.(read more)
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions asked about this news
What did House Speaker Mike Johnson say about the Afghanistan withdrawal?
He criticized it as a bungled effort that allowed tens of thousands of migrants with little vetting.
Who is Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi and what is he accused of?
Tawhedi is an Afghan national accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired Election Day terror attack.
How did Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi enter the US?
He entered the US on a Special Immigrant Visa after the Afghanistan withdrawal.
What did former DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf say about the vetting process?
He noted that evacuees provided information that was often ‘inaccurate, incomplete, or missing.’
What is the potential prison sentence for Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi?
He faces up to 20 years in prison.
