Possible that US may work with Taliban against ISIS: Report
National security correspondent Jennifer Griffin discusses the lack of questions taken at the Pentagon press briefing on the fallout from US withdrawal in Afghanistan on ‘America Reports.'
Fox News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin shared her frustration with U.S. defense officials for taking few questions at a Pentagon press conference Wednesday following the final evacuation flights out of Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
"It was very frustrating sitting in that briefing because the decision was taken to have the defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs take just three questions," Griffin said on "America Reports." "And my question at the end was, 'How can you assure the American people, given the threat that ISIS-K and al Qaeda pose, and the fact that they still remain in Afghanistan, how can you assure Americans that U.S. troops won't have to go back into Afghanistan?'"
She called it a "fair question," but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided limited answers.
"The fact that they didn't take very many questions is an admission that they know that there are a lot of very, very difficult questions right now that they don't really want to answer," Griffin continued.
Austin and Milley pledged to spend time looking at the tactical and strategic mistakes made over the last 20 years, not just those made in the last few months. They also heralded the heroics of the troops in Afghanistan and acknowledged the heartbreak that has resulted from the chaotic withdrawal – statements Griffin called "heartfelt and emotional."
But moving remarks like those, Griffin suggested, were somewhat overshadowed by the Pentagon's lack of transparency.
PENTAGON: ‘POSSIBLE’ PENTAGON WILL WORK WITH TALIBAN AGAINST ISIS-K
"A very sober, somber, briefing, but not a lot of answers to our questions because we were not called upon," she added.
President Biden accepted responsibility for the crisis in Afghanistan this week but simultaneously called the airlift missions, which helped evacuate over 100,000 Americans and Afghan allies from the region, an "extraordinary success." He was ripped by the media, lawmakers and more throughout the ordeal for often turning his back on the press, earning him the nickname "Walkaway Joe."
This week the commander in chief was just as roundly criticized for breaking his promise to bring every American home. After the last U.S. troop left the country Monday, the State Department admitted at least 100 Americans had been left behind.
The most "newsworthy moment" of Wednesday's briefing, Griffin said, was when the Pentagon officials were asked about the U.S. relationship to the Taliban. Although Milley called the Taliban a "ruthless group from the past," he also admitted it was "possible" the U.S. would work with the extremist group to combat ISIS-K in Afghanistan.
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