Exclusive: New evidence challenges the Pentagon’s account of a horrific attack as the US withdrew from Afghanistan

New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations, the latest of which was released last week, into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

The incident was a gruesome coda to America’s longest war, leaving dead 13 United States military service members and about 170 Afghans who were desperately seeking US help to flee the Taliban takeover of Kabul. For two years, the US military has insisted that the loss of life was caused by a single explosion, and that troops who reported coming under fire and returning it were likely confused in the chaotic aftermath, some suffering from the effects of blast concussion.

But video captured by a Marine’s GoPro camera that has not been seen publicly in full before shows there was far more gunfire than the Pentagon has ever admitted. A dozen US military personnel, who were on the scene and spoke to CNN anonymously for fear of reprisals, have described the gunfire in detail. One told CNN he heard the first large burst of shooting come from where US Marines were standing, near the blast site. “It wasn’t onesies and twosies,” the Marine said. “It was a mass volume of gunfire.”

An Afghan doctor who spoke to CNN on the record for the first time said he personally pulled bullets from the wounded, and with his hospital staff counted dozens of Afghans who died from gunshot wounds.

Combined, the new evidence challenges the credibility of the two US military investigations and raises serious questions for the Pentagon, which has continued to dismiss mounting evidence that civilians were shot dead.

Replace? With what, my FRiend?

Most of those of field grade or above who arehonorable or diligent in their duties have already been retired or fired, IMHO.

(Speaking from the vantage point of being the uncle of an LTC and grandfather of a company commander. All that Biden has done violates the Code of Conduct that was contained on the allet card issued to me in 1957 by the then Chief Commander President and former General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, an incomparable leader of American life principles. All my cousins of that generation and I did fulfil our nation's military obligations as enlisted servicemen.)

Rather dismissive, considering that there is a PLETHORA of information not previously disclosed in the Abbey Gate investigations contained in this piece. Sometimes cnn proves pigs do fly. But - tellingly - cnn fails to describe in any way how they acquired the video and further obfuscates the sourcing:

While some Marines aid wounded Afghans, the video also shows that, 21 minutes and 49 seconds after the bombing, Marines fired a CS gas canister from inside the airport walls towards the area near the blast. It may have landed near injured and dead Afghan civilians, still gathered around the sewage trench that ran along the scene of the blast at that time, according to videos shared on social media.
The Pentagon’s investigations have made no reference to the video, half an hour of which CNN obtained. It is unclear how much of it the Pentagon saw prior to publication of this story. It released four seconds of the video – the moment of the blast itself – as part of its initial investigation in February 2022, although the source of that brief clip remains unclear.
CNN described the full video and findings of this story in significant detail to the Pentagon ahead of publication. A spokesman said the Pentagon would need to see any “new, previously unseen, video out there” before assessing it. Army Lt. Col. Rob Lodewick, public affairs adviser to the supplemental review team, said the latest review supported the Pentagon’s initial findings.

But the money quote is at the piece's terminus, after suggesting that the video was among those sought by Congress:

A recent congressional hearing for the then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and then-Central Command Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie ended with Congressman Darrell Issa presenting the two generals with a list of unpublished video that, under a Freedom of Information Act request, the Pentagon had admitted they held. The generals told the session they had seen the videos, and that it should be released to congressional investigators.
Another American military survivor who spoke to CNN said he had endured two years of “leadership saying what you saw was basically not the truth.”
He summarized the two investigations as: “Shut your mouth. We’ll talk for you.”

I can't help but wonder if the upcoming Pentagon CYA will include accusations the video was leaked to CNN...

Footnote: The piece links to 5 minutes 29 seconds of video at the bottom of the article, but the piece references almost another 25 minutes which have not been published nor referenced in any of the Pentagon investigations. Additionally, cnn suggests there is more video to which they have NOT gained access nor has the Pentagon either acknowledged or released.

“If you are a colonel or general, you are just another democrat politician.”

Bullsh!t. You’re painting with too broad a brush. I am a conservative Christian retired colonel and know many others, as well as some very conservative generals (fewer of those, to be sure). We were as frustrated as anybody at some of what passes for leadership at the highest levels. Probably why so many eminently qualified colonels (I will include myself) never got to compete for a star. The few at the very top are jealous of their power and only want “their” people in the club and they control the process and the opportunities.

Colonel, USAF JAGC (Ret)

Sir, while I respect your military background (and mine), and understand WHY you call “bullshit” to my point (you spent your life achieving the rank of colonel), the evidence is overwhelming that far too many high ranking officers “don’t give a shit” about their oath (Section 3331, Title 5, United States Code (officers version) anymore.

Now you are going to ask.... “show me”. Well, I don’t have time to write you an essay including thousands of articles written on the subject and/or educate you on this huge and diverse subject, but here is one FACT, regarding just one issue, that is indisputable and dispositive, in my opinion.

Namely, hundreds, if not thousands of colonels, generals and admirals retire and go to work for high paying defense industry jobs and/or lobbyist jobs thereby perpetuating decade after decade a blatant conflict of interest which leads to wasting billions of taxpayers hard earned money which in turn contributes to the incredible level of third world type corruption we see in our federal government today.

Millions of Americans agree with Eisenhower when he said, in so many words, “watch out for the military-industrial complex”.

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