Flags Were Ordered to Be Flown at Half-Staff After Kabul Airport Bombing
The Claim
After the August 26 attack in Kabul, the U.S. government failed to order that flags be flown at half-staff to honor those who were killed.
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Emerging story
On August 26, 13 US service members were killed after two bombing attacks near Kabul’s airport. The following day, social media users began spreading the claim that “no one has called for the flags to be flown at Half Mast in honor of our brave Marines that lost their lives defending freedom.”
Misbar’s Analysis
MENA: The deadly attacks that took place near the Kabul airport claimed the lives of at least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members. The bombings, perpetrated by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) terrorist organization, happened days before the US completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The tragedy caused many to criticize President Joe Biden’s handling of the US withdrawal in Afghanistan. However, the claim that the president failed to honor those killed in the attack by ordering that flags be flown at half-staff simply is not true.
Shortly after the attack, the White House issued a proclamation honoring the victims of the attack. The proclamation states, “As a mark of respect for the U.S. service members and other victims killed in the terrorist attack on August 26, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, August 30, 2021.”
During an August 26th press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said “As a mark for our respects, starting today, the United States flag will be flown at half-staff.” In an August 26 tweet, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi reiterated the order. She wrote, “Today, I ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at half-staff in honor of the U.S. Servicemembers & others killed in the terrorist attack outside of the Kabul airport.”
