Weapon of Mass Deception: How a Dangerous Report Is Trying to Ignite a New War in Afghanistan
The echo of Iraq is deafening. A new, professional-looking report on the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing is circulating online. It's slick, detailed, and filled with explosive claims tying the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS-K together in a diabolical plot. This document is designed to make your blood boil. It is also a complete, demonstrable, and dangerous lie.
Let me be crystal clear: I have zero sympathy for the Taliban. Their oppressive, medieval regime is a nightmare for the Afghan people. I would rather see them gone from the world stage today than tomorrow. But there is a difference between fighting an enemy and fabricating a false reality to justify a new, catastrophic war. This report, titled "Abbey Gate: Know Thy Enemy", falls squarely into the latter category. It is not investigative journalism. It is a psychological operation (psyop) of the purest form, intended to poison public opinion.
If we want to honor the tragedy of Abbey Gate, where 13 U.S. service members and approximately 170 Afghans lost their lives, we owe it to the victims and their families to protect the truth. And the truth is that this report is a weapon of mass deception. In this article, we will dissect it, claim by claim, and expose the treacherous agenda behind it.
The Anatomy of a Lie: Who Is Behind "Askari Media Group"?
The report is published by an entity calling itself the "Askari Media Group." This sounds official, but it is, in fact, a vehicle for a politically motivated operation led by Sarah Adams, a former U.S. Air Force advisor and author of the book "Benghazi: Know Thy Enemy". Adams positions herself as an independent intelligence analyst, but her work reveals a clear pattern: creating elaborate conspiracy theories that contradict official government records and consistently promote a narrative of betrayal and incompetence within the U.S. government.
Askari Media Group is not an independent journalistic collective; it is an instrument for a specific political agenda. Its method is consistent: take a traumatic national event (Benghazi, Abbey Gate), gather a mix of public information, unverifiable "sources," and pure fiction and weave it all into a seemingly credible, but fundamentally dishonest conspiracy theory.
The narrative they present is as shocking as it is cohesive:
The Grand Conspiracy: The bombing was not a solo act by ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan Province) but a joint operation orchestrated by the Haqqani Network (a powerful faction within the Taliban) with active support from Al-Qaeda.
The Perpetrators: Specific individuals, including Taliban commanders and Al-Qaeda figures like the unknown "Abdullah bin Laden," are identified as masterminds and executors.
U.S. Complicity: The document insinuates and openly claims that the U.S. government and intelligence agencies were incompetent, withheld information, and even financially contributed to the Taliban, thereby enabling the attack.
To substantiate these claims, Adams's group uses a mix of tactics: blurry photos, alleged internal Taliban documents (which are completely unverifiable), and a flood of names, dates, and locations meant to create an aura of authenticity. But when you scratch the surface, the entire house of cards collapses.
Fact vs. Fiction: Debunking the Claims
The report's assertions are not just unfounded; they stand in direct opposition to the factual reality of the dynamics in Afghanistan, as documented by the UN, the U.S. itself, and independent analysts.
Claim 1: The Alliance of Death (Taliban/Haqqani & ISIS-K)
Reality: This is the most fundamental and absurd lie. The Taliban and ISIS-K are mortal enemies engaged in a bloody war against each other. Since the Taliban takeover, ISIS-K has been their primary armed opponent. Official reports from the United Nations and the U.S. Department of Defense confirm that the Taliban are actively hunting ISIS-K cells. ISIS-K considers the Taliban apostates for having negotiated with the U.S. The idea that they would collaborate on a complex operation is strategically and ideologically unthinkable. It's like claiming the fire department and an arsonist worked together to start a fire.
Claim 2: The Phantom Perpetrators and False Identities
Reality: The report names several individuals, but the key figures are either misidentified or pure fabrications. The alleged Al-Qaeda leader "Abdullah bin Laden" is an unknown name within the terrorist organization; it is a transparent attempt to use the "Bin Laden" name for maximum emotional impact. Another figure, Mawlawi Rajab Salahuddin, is presented as a Haqqani agent, when in fact he is a known and documented leader of ISIS-K. The report even invents a bizarre story in which the Taliban fakes his death to receive $86 million in U.S. funds—an unfounded and logically flawed conspiracy theory.
Claim 3: The U.S. Complicity Conspiracy Theory
Reality: The chaotic withdrawal from Kabul was an undeniable debacle. There are legitimate questions to be asked about the intelligence and preparation. However, this report exploits that legitimate criticism and twists it into a malicious conspiracy of active collaboration. There is zero evidence in official investigations by the Pentagon or the State Department that points to a deliberate facilitation of the attack. This is a classic disinformation tactic: take a kernel of truth (the chaos of the evacuation) and spin a web of lies around it.
The Smoking Gun: A Report from the Future
If there were any lingering doubts about the fraudulent nature of this document, they are completely erased by one crucial, almost surreal detail: the timeline. This is the smoking gun that proves we are not dealing with an analysis of the past, but with a script for the future.
You read that correctly. The publication date on the report's cover is August 26, 2025.
But here is the revelation that brings the entire edifice of lies crashing down. The document "reports" on detailed events that supposedly took place earlier this year, in March and July 2025. It describes the extradition of a suspect on March 4, 2025, and a fabricated raid in July 2025, complete with analyses of how "senior administration officials" responded.
Think about that for a moment. How can a report published yesterday already describe "historical" facts from five months ago? The answer is simple: it can't. Unless the entire story was written in advance. This is not history; it is a script. A script written before 2025 to manipulate public opinion as real events unfolded.
This is the essence of a psychological operation. The authors created a pre-fabricated narrative to serve a specific political agenda. The goal was not to reveal the truth about the 2021 tragedy, but to hijack the perception of events in 2025. It is designed to discredit a previous administration (Biden) while simultaneously building a case for a more aggressive, possibly military, posture towards Afghanistan under a new administration (Trump, who is explicitly named).
Why This Is So Extremely Dangerous
This is not a harmless piece of internet fiction. This is a carefully constructed instrument designed to inflict deep, real-world harm.
First, it is a gross insult to the victims of Abbey Gate and their families. Their immeasurable grief and legitimate anger are being hijacked and exploited for a cynical political agenda.
Second, it fans the flames of internal division. By painting one's own government as a treacherous "enemy within," it further erodes trust in democratic institutions. It feeds polarization and creates a climate where facts no longer matter.
But most alarmingly, its clear objective is to manufacture consent for a new war. We have seen this script before. The false claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq created a public mandate for a war that destabilized the region, cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and spawned a new generation of terrorists. This report uses the same formula: it creates a fabricated, existential threat (a Taliban/Al-Qaeda/ISIS-K super-alliance) that makes a decisive military response seem "necessary."
Choose Truth, Reject War Propaganda
The "Abbey Gate: Know Thy Enemy" report has a credibility rating of zero percent. It is a thoroughly corrupt document. It is not objective research. It is pure, unadulterated disinformation, designed to deceive, divide, and ignite a new war.
The Taliban is an enemy, but we do not fight them with lies that will only sow more death and destruction. A new war in Afghanistan, built on a foundation of deceit, will not bring justice for the victims of August 26, 2021. It will only create more victims.
Our duty as critical citizens is to recognize and reject this kind of manipulation. We must ask who benefits from this narrative. We must defend the truth, no matter how painful or complex it may be. Because the first step on the road to the next war is always a lie. Let's refuse to take that step.
Sources That Refute the Claims
Below is a selection of sources that describe the factual situation in Afghanistan and contradict the report's assertions.
United Nations Security Council Reports: These reports consistently describe the hostility and violent conflict between the Taliban and ISIS-K.
Example: Fifteenth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team... concerning ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities (May 2022).
U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) Reports: Official investigations into the Abbey Gate attack confirm it was the work of a single ISIS-K suicide bomber and refute conspiracy theories about a coordinated, complex attack.
CENTCOM Abbey Gate Bombing Investigation: [Link to official press release or report on the CENTCOM or DoD website].
Academic and Analytical Publications: Experts from renowned institutions confirm the ideological and strategic war between the Taliban and ISIS-K.
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point: Offers in-depth analyses of the relationship between ISIS-K and the Taliban.
International Crisis Group: Regularly publishes reports on the security situation in Afghanistan that contradict claims of collaboration.
Independent Journalism and Fact-Checking Organizations: Reputable media and fact-checkers have previously debunked conspiracy theories surrounding the Abbey Gate attack.
Searches for fact-checks by AP, Reuters, or Bellingcat regarding the Abbey Gate bombing.