(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio exposed the Biden administration’s apparent lie about the Taliban holding more American hostages than originally believed, escalating his rhetoric against Afghanistan’s terrorist leaders on Saturday.
Rubio responded to reports that the Taliban could have additional Americans detained in Afghanistan by threatening a “BIG bounty” on those responsible for the heinous act.
“Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported,” Rubio wrote on X.
Trump’s top diplomat followed up his bombshell reveal by saying, “If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on bin Laden.”
Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported. If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on Bin Laden.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@secrubio) January 25, 2025
Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, the Islamic terrorist who orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, was killed by U.S. forces in 2011. No one is believed to have collected a bounty for bin Laden, which went from $25 million immediately after the attacks to $50 million after Congress authorized the secretary of state to offer more, according to Voice of America.
Rubio did not provide information about who the potential American hostages may be.
The Taliban retook power in Aug. 2021 as a result of former President Joe Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal of U.S. troops. The disastrous pullout led to a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that caused the death of 13 American troops and several Afghans.
Good on @marcorubio this is ripping off American tax payers. https://t.co/KHGCVmlNod
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) January 26, 2025
Rubio proved he would carry out Trump’s agenda on Friday when he ordered the freeze of new funding for nearly all new foreign aid programs, according to CBS News — a stark shift from the billions Biden dumped into countries like Ukraine.
Rubio’s order fell in line with Trump’s executive order signed Monday that enabled the U.S. to reevaluate and realign its foreign aid.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
