Eli Lake, Columnist

Afghanistan and the Return of Cruise-Missile Diplomacy

Biden should realize that attacks from the air didn’t work to prevent attacks in the era that ended with 9/11, and they’re unlikely to work now.

September 1, 2021 at 1:45 AM UTC

By Eli Lake

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

It will take more than this to deter terrorists.
Photographer: U.S. Navy/Getty Images North America

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

A paradox of President Joe Biden’s decision to end the war in Afghanistan is his vow to keep fighting the wider battle against terrorism even in the country he has just abandoned.

It has been a theme of Biden’s administration since he announced the unconditional withdrawal in April. The president has talked of an “over-the-horizon capability that will allow us to keep our eyes firmly fixed on any direct threats to the United States in the region.” After the suicide blast at the Kabul airport last week that killed 13 American service members, Biden promised to “hunt down” the perpetrators. On Tuesday, Biden warned the perpetrators of that attack, ISIS-K: “We are not done with you yet.”