The Biden administration has had to walk back recent assertions about a drone strike in Syria, causing an embarrassing reversal for the U.S. government, according to a senior defense official who spoke with Fox News.
Initial reports identified the individual killed in the May 3 missile strike as a senior al Qaeda leader. But subsequent reports from The Washington Post, citing the family of the deceased, revealed the individual as Lotfi Hassan Misto, a father of 10 from northwest Syria, who was reportedly tending to his sheep at the time of the attack. His family has denied Misto had any connections to terrorist groups.
This blunder occurs alongside other mounting criticisms of the administration's handling of national issues, including the ongoing border situation and queries about the Durham report.
NewsNation host Chris Cuomo pointed out the escalating concerns at the U.S. border following the lifting of Title 42, which had previously expelled migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border as a COVID-19 precaution. With the pandemic no longer classified as a national emergency, the restriction has been lifted, leading to an increase in border crossings.
Cuomo remarked on the changing landscape, "You heard all the politics about how there was going to be an invasion and now there's literally almost no one here." He added, "the absence of people should be more frightening than seeing the big groups." Cuomo underscored the lack of media attention to this issue, stating, "The absence should be more frightening because we need to know the answer of where they are, and it really is an indication of how broken this system is."
Adding to the administration's headaches, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was recently taken to task for her inability to address questions related to the FBI's handling of alleged Russian collusion with the 2016 Trump campaign. Jean-Pierre deflected, stating, "Again, that is with the Department of Justice. That's not something that I'm going to speak from the podium. As you just stated in your question, we believe in an independent Department of Justice."
These episodes signify a challenging period for the Biden administration, which is currently grappling with a variety of issues, both domestic and international.
