Gun Sales in Deep Blue Massachusetts Hit Record Levels Beginning in 2020, Sparked by Fear: Report

Gun sales in Massachusetts — a state with historically low firearm ownership — have skyrocketed since 2020, due in-part to people wanting to arm themselves out of fear, according to a new report.

Many customers “haven’t fully grasped the idea of wanting to own a firearm for defensive purposes, but something brought them here,” Cape Gun Works co-owner Toby Leary told local outlet WBUR. “They feel like they’ve been spurred to do it based on what they see, or their own personal feelings about the world.”

Leary said many of his customers during the pandemic and following months told him that they did not like guns, but that fear pushed them to make the purchase, WBUR reported. Continue reading “”

where we stand depends upon who has the guns

“where you stand depends upon where you sit.”
this saying has grown old and hardened like oak as only deep truths may.
and many of the disciples of saul know this all too well.

let us start with SA’s own words:

The essence of Lenin’s speeches during this period was “They have the guns and therefore we are for peace and for reformation through the ballot.

When we have the guns then it will be through the bullet.” And it was.

-Saul Alinsky “rules for radicals”

saul and his adherents appreciate and ape such aims.
this goes well past the modern ideas of ‘supporting rights when we are in the minority and democracy when we are in the majority” and on into “we will rule by force and once we have the guns, they will all be pointed at you.”

this has been marxism 101 since it first became praxis.
get the guns, use them to rule.

it’s not new, you just don’t think it could happen here.

but you know what the thing that all societies which succumbed to armed marxist or fascist oppression by violence have in common?

they didn’t think it could happen there either.

they mistook the invaders for liberators and invited these vampires in. the orgies of savage blood sucking and societal destruction and degradation that followed rank among the worst calamities in the history of the human species, likely worse even than world wars if only for their sheer duration.

put into this context some recent events in the US that could be mistaken for simply silly or just stupid flexes take on more sinister overtones.

because he who controls the military controls a lot of guns.

and this is an actual training video from the US navy.

it’s stunning in both its childish, sesame street level tone and set dressing. the actors feel like cartoon puppets. it’s clearly not aimed at adults.

i doubt this is an accident.

i see two possibilities:

  1. the people pushing these agendas are really, truly this tone deaf and have no idea how badly this will play.
  2. this was a deliberate shank as a means for rebellious middle ranks to follow new diktat from on high to the letter while simultaneously making it an object of ridicule thought the use of a format so bad and ill-suited to audience as to render it (quite literally) ridiculous. i mean, listen to these two. does anything about them appear poised to command the respect of soldiers?

either way, my suspicion is this:

these new “woke till you choke” impositions are being used not so much as a means to change minds as a screen for ideological purity and a form of signaling about “what sort of people are welcome in the military these days.” if you’re not a “pronouns in email” kind of guy, uh, person, uh, entity, uh, (jeez this gets hard) then ship out. we don’t want you here, won’t promote you, and intend to make your life a misery.

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Alleged home intruder shot in Logan County

LOGAN COUNTY, Ky. (WBKO) – WBKO News is learning more information about a Logan County shooting. Authorities are investigating a shooting that happened in Logan County early Monday morning.

On Monday around 9:35 a.m., authorities received a call about a home invasion on Deerlick Road.

When officials arrived on scene they interviewed two individuals. During the investigation, the homeowner said he was in bed with his girlfriend when they heard a loud noise downstairs around 1 a.m. When he went downstairs he said someone was trying to force their way into his home. The homeowner then fired one shot at the alleged intruder.

According to officials, the man fled the scene and entered the Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville with a gunshot wound to the abdomen around 2:30 a.m. The individual has since been transferred to a trauma center in Nashville.

The Logan County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating, with criminal charges pending at this time.

 

Larry Correia’s In Defense of the Second Amendment

In Defense of the Second Amendment by [Larry Correia, Nick Searcy]

What Part of the Second Amendment Don’t You Understand?

That’s the question posed by award-winning, New York Times bestselling author, and professional firearms instructor, Larry Correia.
Bringing with him the practical experience that comes from having owned a high-end gun store—catering largely to law enforcement—and as a competitive shooter and self-defense trainer, Correia blasts apart the emotion-laden, logic-free rhetoric of the gun control fanatics who turn every “mass shooting” into a crazed call for violating your rights, abusing the Constitution—and doing absolutely nothing to really fight crime.
In his essential new book, In Defense of the Second Amendment, Correia reveals:

  • Why “gun-free” zones are more dangerous for law-abiding citizens
  • How the Second Amendment does indeed include your right to own an AR-15—and why that’s not an “outdated” concept
  •  Why “red flag” laws don’t work, can be easily abused, and ignore a much more commonsensical approach to keeping guns out of the wrong hands 
  • The insanity of “criminal justice reform” that frees dangerous criminals and “gun reform” that penalizes your right to self-defense
  • How we can return to a society that has a safe and healthy relationship with guns—as we had for most of our history
  • Correia’s promise: “Believe me, I’ve heard every argument relating to gun control possible. I can show you how to defend your rights.”

Urgent, informed, with vitally important information for whoever who owns a gun—or is thinking about owning a gun—or who cares about the preservation of our constitutional rights, In Defense of the Second Amendment is a landmark book of enduring importance.

Auburn gas station clerk shaken up after fatally shooting alleged armed robbery suspect

AUBURN, Wash. — An attempted armed robbery suspect was shot dead late Monday night by a store clerk in Auburn, and people in the neighborhood say they have seen a surge in crime in the downtown area where the fatal shooting happened.

The clerk who pulled the trigger told KOMO News Tuesday that he is still processing the shooting, that it happened quickly and he’s thinking of the 19-year-old man who was killed along with his family.

Police were in the early stages of their investigation while workers at the convenience store were also trying to pick up the pieces.

Police were called shortly before 12:30 a.m. to the Shell station located at 201 Auburn Way S. for a report of a shooting and robbery attempt, a department spokesperson said.

When police arrived they found the body of man who had been shot at least one, according to police. The man, who was not identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

It was not immediately clear if the suspect brandished a weapon before he was shot.

Crews on Tuesday replaced the convenience store’s front door and the register plexiglass that was struck by bullets overnight.

Investigators worked Tuesday to piece together what happened during the incident.

“We don’t know if this person who was shot and killed acted alone or had help,” police spokesperson Kolby Crossley said.

The store and police declined to provide the surveillance video from the incident, and officers say it’s too soon to know if the clerk is facing charges.

“We’ll gather all this information and then we’ll ship it off to the prosecutor’s office,” Crossley said. “And then that’s a decision they will look into themselves.”

Police investigators swarmed the site after the fatal shooting at the gas station

A construction worker for a project next door said the store is in a dangerous area because of criminal activity next to the nearby grocery store.

“There’s drug use rampant over by Safeway,” Kevin Olsen said. “They steal converters (and) there’s fights out there daily. It’s terrible.”

He’s not surprised the clerk took matters into his own hands and says he and his co-workers feel like they’re left to fend for themselves.

“I think it’s a good thing he defended himself. I mean, the cops can’t do anything,” Olsen said. People “smoke their crack right by (police) and ride their bicycles right by. Eventually the citizens have to do something about it.”

Officers say they’re working to prevent these crimes with their designated patrol areas, including a community response team focused on downtown.

“People are willing to do crazy thigs and it doesn’t really matter where it is or why they’re doing it,” Crossley said. “That’s why we’re here.”

This shooting was part of a violent weekend for the city.

Police responded to a drive-by shooting a couple days ago and another homicide last night, raising Auburn’s homicide toll to nine for the year, with eight involving firearms.

Metro Man Shoots Home Intruder, Says He Feared For His Safety

A metro man confronts and shoots an intruder after police say he forced his way into the southwest Oklahoma City home.
According to the resident, who did not want to be identified, he hesitated to pull the trigger.

He said after Derial Goode Jr. managed to force his locked front door open, he was stirred awake.

The resident thought the noise was caused by his niece walking through the house but was wrong.

“He was sitting at my kitchen table, just sitting there, not saying a word,” said the resident.

The homeowner says Goode barely spoke.

“He started walking around mumbling and went into my living room, knocked some pictures down, so I went into my bedroom and grabbed my gun,” said the man.

He said he called out to his niece as the intruder stumbled around.

“Whenever she came out and said I have no idea who this is, that was a gamechanger right there,” said the man.

Only then did the homeowner point his gun as the intruder ran into a religious shrine.

It was erected in honor of the homeowner’s sister who was murdered four years ago.

“He might have children, brothers and sisters. I’ve felt that. I know what it’s like to lose a family member to gun violence, so I did not want that for his family member or for him,” said the man.

But instead of leaving the man says Goode approached him.

“At that moment I feared for my life and niece’s life, and that’s when I shot him,” said the man,

He said for the first time Goode spoke clearly.

“When I shot him and he fell down he said that hurt,” said the man.

The man called 911.

“We do know that the suspect did not live there, was not supposed to be there,” said Sgt. Dillon Quirk, Oklahoma City Police Department.

“I thank God he’s alive, but it also makes me worry, what if he wants to come back and shoot me or something?” said the man.

Goode was arrested on complaints of breaking and entering and public intoxication.

There are 2 very different types of people in this Country:
1. The kind of person who accepts anything greater society dictates for the perceived good even at the cost of their own liberty. These people also love to weaponize Government against people they hate.
2. Those that understand that society is compromised of individuals. People with different views, temperaments, etc. These people generally want the most freedom for the individual, with the understanding that society will be better for it. They want smaller Government.
-Iraqveteran8888

So basically, if you in any way praise or uphold the mentality that founded the American nation, federal law enforcement considers that a red flag?

On their list of “extremist phrases” is “All enemies foreign & domestic” That same phrase is in the US MILITARY ENLISTMENT OATH

The Betsy Ross flag? Seriously?

It’s weird I don’t see an antifa flag anywhere on there, they must work for the Feds

Not a single symbol or flag representing the groups that burned cities.

 

“How to Spot a Groomer With This 1 Weird Trick”

The Clinical Steps To Grooming Kids Match Exactly How They’re Being Taught In Schools

The steps predators take to groom children for sexual abuse bear a remarkable resemblance to some modern lesson plans in American elementary schools, according to descriptions clinical experts provided to the Daily Caller.

Proponents of introducing Critical Gender Theory curricula and graphic sexual education to young children in schools have rejected the “groomer” pejorative critics recently began lobbing at them. Still, the grooming methods that experts outlined for the Caller bear a striking resemblance to some of the newer sexual education lessons the fringe political left is pushing into classrooms.

The most common tactics groomers employ are cultivating a positive reputation within a community, introducing sexualized topics or imagery to kids, isolating them from their parents, and encouraging them to keep secrets, experts told the Daily Caller. Each of these red flags have manifested themselves in classroom policies or public programs for children across America in recent years.

“I can’t think of too many times where I would think that an unrelated person should say, ‘Don’t say this to your parents,’” Daniel Pollack, professor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University, told the Daily Caller.

“[Parents] should be informed [about sex education], especially the younger kids are,” Chris Newlin, executive director of the National Children’s Advocacy Center, said. “I’m just not a fan of things being held secret from parents, and kids being told not to tell.”

Yet a culture of secrets is exactly what’s cropping up in some schools. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that a school could institute a policy in which kids change their gender identity without informing parents. In March, a Texas elementary school told 5-year-old kids not to tell their parents what adults taught during pride week classroom discussions. A new Philadelphia policy requires teachers to hide the transgender status of students from parents.

Examples are international, too: in Canada, one school hosted a “pride dance” that parents were prohibited from seeing.

The dictionary definition of groomer is “the criminal activity of becoming friends with a child in order to try to persuade the child to have a sexual relationship,” according to the Cambridge English Dictionary. Some critics of sexualized education for kids and programs like Drag Queen Story Hour allege that kids aren’t only being groomed for potential abuse, but are being mentally groomed into a particular worldview regarding sexuality and gender.

Continue reading “”

BLUF
A little over 2400 rounds before it quits.

Ruger Security 9 Endurance Test, by Pat Cascio

Back in February 2018, I tested the then fairly-new polymer-frame Ruger Security 9  handgun. It was a stellar pistol, and very affordable, as well. I liked that gun so much that I added a second one to my modest collection. The first one resides in our bedroom, it is my “nightstand” gun – even though it isn’t stored in a nightstand. My second Security 9 has a trigger guard mounted laser on it, and that is the only difference between the two guns.

Look, we all know that, anything can be broken, under the right circumstance, and I stopped doing “to destruction” testing on just about everything I test. I’ve had more than a few firearms almost self-destruct without doing that type of testing. On the Ruger Security 9, I just wanted to put an obscene number of rounds through it, before it stopped working. Needless to say, no easy task, since we are still in the worst ammo drought in history. The nice folks at Black Hills Ammunition supplied me with a lot of the ammo used in this testing. I also purchased a lot of 9mm ammo out of my own funds, and quite a bit was donated to me – my local FFL often gets ammo in a gun trade – usually partially full boxes, and sometimes they get ammo in plastic bags – they’ve donated quite a bit of ammo to me over the years.

As stated, I wasn’t about to do an article or test to see if I could destroy the little Ruger Security 9, I just wanted to run a lot of ammo through the gun, without cleaning it or lubing it, after I first inspected the gun out of the box – at which time, I lubed it with Breakfree CLP and didn’t do any cleaning after that. I was going to terminate my testing, when the Security 9 had a gun-induced malfunction.

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New Orleans PD response time is why you need a gun

Major cities tend to favor gun control. People figure they don’t need a gun because they can just call the police. In many cases, that works. After all, larger police departments tend to have the kind of manpower were help can be just a few minutes away.

That doesn’t help if seconds count, but in New Orleans, it seems even if they don’t, you’re still screwed.

It is one of the most startling crime stats to emerge in recent months: It takes New Orleans police an average of 2½ hours to respond to a 9-1-1 call, according to a new analysis presented to the City Council on Wednesday.

That figure, calculated by the data firm AH Datalytics and presented to the council’s criminal justice committee, was determined after looking at response times for all calls — including low-priority incidents, like fender-benders or stolen cars where residents are in little danger.

The New Orleans Police Department immediately took issue with how data analyst Jeff Asher crunched the numbers, asserting that residents should focus instead on the department’s response times for emergencies, which police get to largely within minutes.

Low-priority calls are often placed at the end of long backlogs, driving up the overall average.

The problem is that what can start as a low-priority call can become a high-priority call pretty quickly. And, of course, if you’ve already been marked down as low-priority, no one is coming faster unless you can make yet another call to 9-1-1.

At least some on the city council agree.

City Council members said the situation is a crisis that demands immediate action from City Hall.

“We’re just done with the talk,” said Council President Helena Moreno. “We just have to be really honest and say that potentially, people’s lives could be at stake.”

The problem is that the New Orleans Police Department is having a manpower problem. They simply don’t have enough officers on the job to put them on the streets.

It doesn’t help that funding for law enforcement was cut in 2021 to the tune of $15 million.

Earlier this year, the police union president cited progressive politicians as the reason still more officers are leaving the city, some for lower-paying positions. After all, why work to make arrests when the bad guy is going to just end up back on the streets in no time flat?

All of this brings me to point to this as why gun rights matter.

We cannot trust the police to save us. Even if Uvalde hadn’t happened, this would be a big warning sign that maybe, just maybe, the police won’t instantly respond to your 9-1-1 call, the same call you’re counting on to keep you safe from that bump in the dark.

But if you have a gun, you have the means to protect yourself. It doesn’t matter if it takes the police two and a half hours to finally get to your door because you’ll still be alive to open it for them.

Remember that even in the best of cities, you can only count on the police to get there in time to draw a chalk outline around the body. It’s your gun rights that give you the ability to make sure the body in question isn’t yours. It’s not a difficult decision to make

When CNN Quotes Everytown Troublesome Facts Kick In

Over the weekend, CNN reported on gun control laws passed so far in 2022, adding this reference, “There is a direct correlation in states with weaker gun laws and higher rates of gun deaths, including homicides, suicides and accidental killings, according to a January study published by Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit focused on gun violence prevention.”

However, an article in the Keene Sentinel, a newspaper serving southwest New Hampshire, reveals a small problem with Everytown’s research that might raise an eyebrow, if not some serious questions. Headlined “New Hampshire paradox: State gun laws remain loose as violence rate remains low,” the story’s lead paragraph tells a different tale.

“National rankings indicate New Hampshire has some of the weakest gun laws in the nation, and yet the state also maintains a low rate of firearm violence,” the newspaper says.

The report also quotes State Senate President Chuck Morse (R-Salem), who told the newspaper’s editorial board recently that gun-related violence is a problem of people, not guns.

“I don’t believe it’s a gun problem because look at New Hampshire.,” Morse reportedly stated. “We have more guns than probably any other state per capita. We have open carry, we passed constitutional carry, and we’re one of the safest states in the nation.”

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Store clerk in Beaumont shoots suspect who attacked her during robbery

BEAUMONT — A justice of the peace has set bond at $250,000 for a Beaumont man accused of attacking a store clerk during a robbery Friday night.

Beaumont police say the store clerk shot 62-year-old William Coleman after he attacked her at Everest Food Mart in the 2800 block of Eastex Freeway.

Police responded to the store around 11:30 p.m. Friday.

Police say the store clerk called 911 and reported a robbery in progress.

When police arrived, they found the wounded suspect.

Paramedics transported him to the hospital with serious injuries.

Detectives have obtained an aggravated Robbery warrant for Coleman.

Once he is released from the hospital, officers will transport him to the Jefferson County Jail.

The store clerk suffered several minor injuries during the attack.

Justice of the Peace Ben Collins, Sr., set bond at $250,000 for the aggravated robbery charge.

The robbery investigation is ongoing.

Oklahoma Pushes Back Against School Districts That Violated Ban on Critical Race Theory

After two Oklahoma school districts violated the state’s ban on teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT), the state took action to punish them.

In response to both Tulsa Public Schools and Mustang Public Schools violating HB 1775, which “protects our children across the state from being taught revisionist history and that ‘one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex,’ or that ‘an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,” the Oklahoma State Board of Education voted to give the schools an “accreditation with warning,” which is the third of a five-step process.

The warning will require the two districts to show that they have made the changes needed to meet the board’s standards.

The board decided to go a step higher than what HB 1775 recommends, which is disciplinary action for violators of “accreditation with deficiencies,” which is the second step.

According to Townhall, the incident was first revealed when the board found out that the school districts held a training course for teachers including lessons on how “to shame white people for past offenses in history.”

In addition, Tulsa Public Schools was recently found to have made two books with explicit content available to students in middle school.

Woo! Woo! Woo! He shot my arm off! He shot my arm off! Waahhh.

Caught on video: Norco store owner blasts armed robber with shotgun; 3 arrested

A would-be robber was critically injured after being shot by a store owner in Norco early Sunday in a dramatic incident that was captured on surveillance video.

An employee who reached out to KTLA said the video shows a man armed with an assault-style rifle walk into the Norco Market at 816 Sixth Street around 2:45 a.m., point the weapon at the owner, and order him to put his “hands in the air.”

Within just a few seconds, the owner steps behind a glass display and fires a shotgun at the suspect, who immediately runs out of the store screaming and shouting, “He shot my arm off!”

Officials later indicated that three men entered the store armed with long guns and wearing facial coverings and hoods.

A second camera in the parking lot shows the suspect jump into a dark-colored BMW SUV with at least three accomplices and then drive away.

Four suspects were later found at a hospital. One of the men “was suffering from a gunshot wound consistent with a shotgun blast,” according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The 23-year-old remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition and will be booked into jail after being released, officials said.

The suspect vehicle, which had been reported stolen, was also found at the hospital. Inside the dark-colored BMW SUV authorities found numerous stolen firearms.

Three suspects were taken into custody in the hospital parking lot and were booked for robbery and conspiracy. They are being held on $500,000 bail.

The men were identified as Justin Johnson, 22, of, Inglewood, Jamar Williams, 27, of Los Angeles and Davon Broadus, 24, of Las Vegas.

“In this case, a lawfully armed member of our community prevented a violent crime and ensured their own safety, while being confronted with multiple armed suspects,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

The employee told KTLA the store owner called 911 and was later transported to a hospital with a possible heart condition, although he is expected to be OK.

The shooting remains under investigation.

You can expect more of this with an administration headed by a feeble, senile dolt, and an airhead. Even the droning al Zawahiri means little to other sects of moslems bent on jihad.

IRANIAN IMPUNITY IN THE U.S.?
Man Arrested with AK-47 Outside Brooklyn Home of Iranian Dissident.

On Thursday, a 23-year-old man named Khalid Mehdiyev was arrested in Brooklyn outside the home of Masih Alinejad. She is the astonishingly courageous Iranian dissident who so enrages the mullahs who lead the Islamic Republic that they mounted an audacious plot last year to kidnap her in New York and take her back to Iran, where she would have faced unimaginable horrors. Was this a second attempt by the Iranians to rid themselves of one of their highest-profile and most trenchant critics? If so, it highlights yet again Old Joe Biden’s appalling weakness. Weakness, after all, invites aggression.

According to the New York Post, Mehdiyev (which is a common Azeri name; there is a sizable Azeri minority in Iran) had a loaded AK-47 and over a thousand dollars in cash, and had been hanging around Alinejad’s home for two days before he was finally apprehended. The federal complaint  “makes no explicit connection between Mehdiyev and Alinejad but says the accused had focused on an unnamed Brooklyn ‘residence.’”Mehdiyev showed all the signs of a determined and potentially lethal stalker: “Law enforcement observed Mehdiyev sitting in a gray Subaru Forester SUV with an Illinois license plate for several hours on Wednesday and Thursday. Feds said he ordered food to his car and looked inside of the windows and attempted to open the front door of the residence he was parked outside of.” Finally, on Thursday, Mehdiyev had the poor judgment to run a stop sign and was stopped by the NYPD, which found that he had no driver’s license.

When cops searched his car, they found, apparently along with two days’ worth of takeout cartons, “the loaded AK-47 with multiple magazines, additional rounds of ammunition and a suitcase full of cash. Two other different license plates were also found.”

But Mehdiyev insists that his odd and suspicious behavior was entirely innocent: he “told police he had been staying in Yonkers, but the rent was too high there and he was looking for a new place to live in the Brooklyn neighborhood. He said he had tried to open the front door of the residence so he could knock on an inside door to ask if he could rent a room.” He apparently didn’t explain why he sat outside the place for two days, and he had no plausible explanation for anything else, either: “He initially told officers he had borrowed the car and he didn’t know anything about the gun and said the suitcase was not his.” Yeah, you know how AK-47s can just appear in your car without your knowledge or consent, and what can anyone do about that?

Later, apparently realizing how ridiculous his initial story sounded, Mehdiyev “confessed that the gun was his and he had been in Brooklyn ‘because he was looking for someone’” — an ominous statement when you’re carrying an AK during your search.

Masih Alinejad is a particular thorn in the side of the mullahs because she highlights on a daily basis the pettiness and cruelty of the Islamic Republic. She routinely posts videos that have been sent to her (at tremendous risk) from inside Iran, showing Iranian women risking multiyear prison sentences for the crime of taking off their hijab, the arrest and torture of women who have done so, and the Iranian regime’s determination to punish women who dare to resist their oppression. On Wednesday, she posted a video showing the “unspeakable cruelty” of the Iranian regime in killing over 1,700 stray dogs. (Dogs are considered unclean in Islam, and Muhammad, the Islamic prophet, ordered that they be killed.)

In a shame/honor culture, Masih Alinejad is doing something that the Iranian mullahs likely consider worse than death: she is humiliating them. And so it wouldn’t be in the least surprising if it turns out that they sent Khalid Mehdiyev, as they sent the kidnappers who were foiled last year.

Old Joe Biden presents such an image of fecklessness and lack of control that it’s easy to see why the mullahs would think that this is the perfect time to strike within the United States: if Masih Alinejad were ever abducted or killed, Joe will stumble and mumble through some paper-tiger statement and continue his indefatigable pursuit of a new Iranian nuclear deal. So for the mullahs, there is no downside to continuing to try to get her in their clutches. The only people who would pay a price, as always with Joe’s actions and inactions, are the free people of the world.

Undermining Taliban narrative, US kills al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri in Kabul

The Washington Examiner can confirm that a U.S. drone strike over the weekend killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri in Kabul, Afghanistan. The news of al Zawahiri’s death was originally reported by the Associated Press. President Joe Biden will announce the news from the White House on Monday evening.

Al Zawahiri’s location was likely identified as he prepared to meet with Taliban officials. A formative member of al Qaeda, al Zawahiri succeeded Osama bin Laden on the latter’s death in May 2011. With long-standing roots in the Salafi-Jihadist movement, Zawahiri cut his teeth in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Lacking bin Laden’s personal charisma, he nevertheless remained a respected and capable commander. His ability to evade a persistent, nearly three-decade U.S. effort to locate him testified to his operational skill.

Yet even as this is a significant victory for the Biden administration, the circumstances of al Zawahiri’s death are ironically problematic for the administration.

After all, al Zawahiri was killed in Kabul, right in the citadel of Taliban power. Sources tell me that this is far from coincidental. In recent months, al Qaeda leaders have taken increasing steps to reconstitute their official interactions with the Taliban. Al Zawahiri was almost certainly in Kabul to further that interest. This obviously represents a clear breach of the Taliban’s commitment, via the Trump administration-Taliban peace accord, that it would disavow relations with al Qaeda in return for the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The nature of al Zawahiri’s death evinces how the Taliban remain al Qaeda’s active ally. The tentacles of ideology and ambition are once again coalescing. It is highly unlikely that al Zawahiri’s death will lead to the Taliban’s reconsideration of this relationship. Still, this is embarrassing for Taliban in the same way that bin Laden’s Pakistani residence was embarrassing for Islamabad: It reeks of duplicity.

Biden may address that duplicity in his speech. But a familiar problem remains: So-called over-the-horizon counterterrorism operations are far more complicated when said counterterrorism forces have a limited footprint from which to gather intelligence on the ground. While the United States will remain able to target individual terrorists successfully when and where they are found, many more will remain undiscovered. The decision by former President Donald Trump and Biden to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan will thus remain a controversial one.