On Aug. 31, Biden defiantly dubbed the withdrawal an 'extraordinary success'
* Upon learning during an Afghanistan briefing of the bombing, there were gasps throughout the room and Biden winced before going silent for a long pause
* 'The worst that can happen has happened,' the president said once he broke the silence, meeting participants told the New York Times
* The death toll eventually rose to 13 US service members and over 170 Afghans
* On Aug. 31, Biden defiantly dubbed the withdrawal an 'extraordinary success'
* The commander-in-chief said the operation couldn't have been done in a 'more orderly manner'
President Biden's gut reaction to the news that a deadly suicide bomb had gone off amid the American evacuation from Afghanistan has been revealed.
During an Afghanistan briefing on Aug. 26, head of US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie turned ashen as he was handed a piece of paper. He told the meeting, which he'd called into by video, that a bomb had been detonated near the Hamid Karzai Airport - four services members were already dead, three near dead, dozens more injured.
There were gasps throughout the room and Biden winced before going silent for a long pause. 'The worst that can happen has happened,' the president said once he broke the silence, meeting participants told the New York Times.
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WNU Editor: I am not sure about "the worst that can happen has happen" remark is going to hold with time. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is a disaster right now .... 780,000 Afghan children without shelter, nearly 8.6 million without blankets as temperatures drop below freezing – Save the Children (Relief Web). Millions are trying to flee the country .... UNHCR: Afghans struggle to seek safety as borders remain shut to most (UNHCR). And Al Qaeda is back and protected by their Taliban allies .... Talks With Taliban Restart as US Worries About Al-Qaeda Threat in Afghanistan (Air Force Magazine). The "worst" may be coming.