El-Sayed 2022 Essay Criticizes Biden's Drone Strike on Al-Qaeda Leader
A resurfaced op-ed finds the Michigan Senate candidate arguing the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri was a domestic political move ahead of the midterms.
By Nour Haddad ·
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, wrote a 2022 essay accusing then-President Joe Biden of using a military victory for domestic political advantage. The Washington Free Beacon first reported on the text, which has now resurfaced in the current campaign cycle.
The essay responds to the drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda. Biden announced the operation on Aug. 1, 2022. At the time, the president stated that al-Zawahiri was deeply involved in planning the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed 2,977 people on American soil. Intelligence officials have long maintained that al-Zawahiri helped plan those attacks and other deadly assaults on Americans abroad.
In his writing for The New Republic, El-Sayed argued that the strike was intended to boost Biden's approval ratings before the midterm elections. He wrote, "President Biden is using the strike to bolster his approval here at home. It is troubling to watch yet another American president flog 'War on Terror' themes to resurrect a laggard term."
El-Sayed described the operation as providing the administration with a "fig leaf" to show that Afghanistan remained a target for direct action against terrorist groups. He suggested that if the White House wanted to project true strength in the Middle East, it should confront autocratic regional leaders rather than focusing on a single strike.
The candidate did not defend al-Zawahiri in the piece. He labeled the al-Qaeda leader a "craven terrorist" who died with the blood of innocent civilians on his hands. This criticism fits a pattern in El-Sayed's public commentary. He previously warned against the 2020 strike on Iranian leader Qassem Soleimani and called the 2011 killing of Anwar al-Awlaki an extrajudicial assassination.
El-Sayed has also drawn comparisons between Donald Trump and Osama bin Laden, suggesting both inspired acts of terrorism. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Wednesday regarding the resurfaced essay.
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