Thread by @SPMiles42

I really shouldn't be shocked at the disingenuous lies by House Republicans anymore at this point, but here we are. This statement by HASC RM Rogers is a real doozy though, and it actually shows a lot about how things have gotten so f*ed up. So let's dig in. 🧵

Let's start with Rogers claim at this airstrike was 'ordered by President Biden.' That is a lie & Rogers knows it. Here's the CENTCOM Cmdr confirming as much that same day. 2/

Rogers knows how the launch authority for these strikes works and he knows @POTUS didn't personally order it. But he lied because it makes for a better political attack on Biden. He's lying about a military action to serve his political aims. That's beyond dangerous. 3/

This isn't some bankbench Congressman shooting his mouth off, this is the highest ranking Republican on the Armed Services Cmte and possible future chair. His words carry weight and his knowing choice to lie here is dangerous given his powerful position. 4/

But let's keep going. Rogers uses this as a chance to hit @POTUS on his planned use of 'over the horizon' counterterrorism operations following the drawdown in #Afghanistan. Except here's the problem, this wasn't actually 'over the horizon.' 5/

This attack occurred while there were thousands of US forces on the ground in a location in which we have deep intel networks and robust knowledge. The problem with this strike wasn't that the operator was somewhere else, it was that the strike was based on patterns/behavior. 6/

Here's the thing about that it's nothing new. The US has routinely conducted strikes like that, many with the same devastating, horrific consequences for innocent victims. Rogers has NEVER been an opponent of that nor condemned them. Again, his outrage here is purely partisan. 7/

If Rogers was worried about this type of activity, he has had ample opportunity over the last two decades to voice his concerns and criticism. Spoiler Alert: he hasn't. His hypocritical feigned outrage here is all about trying to score political points, nothing more. 8/

Ask yourself a simple question, when under President Trump, Afghan civilians were dying at record numbers as a result of US airstrikes, was Rogers leading the charge to oppose them and denouncing the loss of innocent life? Yeah, didn't think so. 9/

None of this is to say there aren't real concerns about the inevitable loss of life from over the horizon CT strikes in Afghanistan. There are and we should all be outraged about their planned use. 10/

But again, this isn't new. We've been conducting similar attacks in other countries where we haven't had thousands of US forces on the ground for years. That's in fact why we should be outraged, we know how awful the strategy is. See: Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, etc. 11/

None of that is what Rogers is concerned about & his 'concerns' here should not be treated like they are legitimate. There are real questions to be asked about our drone wars, but they're never going to be genuinely answered unless we stop indulging bad faith bs like this. 12/12