Last year President Biden committed to the American people that, following the withdrawal of U.S. forces, the United States would continue to protect our country and act against terrorist threats stemming from Afghanistan. The United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike, confirmed by President Joe Biden on August 1 in a speech. Zawahiri immediately rose to power 11  years after the US killed Osama bin Laden. At one point, he acted as bin Laden’s personal physician. A senior administration official described Zawahiri’s death as “a precisely tailored airstrike” using two Hellfire missiles. Biden authorized the drone strike which hit at 9:48 p.m. on August 30; this followed from weeks of meetings with his Cabinet and key advisers adding no American personnel.

The culmination of Zawahiri’s terror plotting came on September 11, 2001, when he nearly killed 3,000 people in the attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and Pentagon. A fourth hijacked airplane, headed for Washington, crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back. Since then, Zawahiri increased his public profile, appearing on numerous videos and audiotapes to urge Muslims to join the Jihad (rebellion)  against the United States and its allies. His tapes were followed closely by terrorist attacks. For instance, in May 2003,  simultaneous suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed 23 people; including nine Americans, days after a tape thought to contain Zawahiri’s voice surfaced.

“The man in question is very often credited with being the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. That being said, he’s deemed by [several] international communities as a terrorist and an enemy of the state. He’s capable of incredible violence,” Comparative government and World History teacher Carolyn Galloway said.

Biden spoke outdoors Monday, August 1 from the Blue Room Balcony at the White House and said the strike targeting Zawahiri resulted from the “extraordinary persistence and skill” of the nation’s intelligence community. The strike comes one year after Biden ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, prompting Taliban forces to rapidly seize control of the nation. Without Zawahiri present, he can no longer make Afghanistan a terrorist safe haven. The President concluded by expressing gratitude to US intelligence and counterterrorism communities, saying that he hopes Zawahiri’s death will bring a certain measure of closure to the friends and families of 9/11 victims.

“The state has the right to take out a threat and we should be very careful when that regards individual humans. Killing Zawahiri was dangerous but it’s no more dangerous than the killing of Osama bin Laden and it’s the same goal. It’s more of a question about the U.S presidency and the U.S government as a whole to make those decisions,” Galloway said.