Resurfaced Essay Shows El-Sayed Accused Biden of Politicizing Strike on 9/11 Plotter

An essay written in 2022 by Abdul El-Sayed, now a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, has resurfaced. In it, he accused then-President Joe Biden of exploiting the killing of a key figure behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks for political gain.

The piece was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon. It concerns the U.S. drone strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, which Biden announced on Aug. 1, 2022.

Announcing the strike, Biden said al-Zawahiri "was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11, one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil." Intelligence officials have long maintained that al-Zawahiri helped plan the 9/11 attacks as well as other deadly assaults on Americans abroad.

Writing for The New Republic, El-Sayed argued that the president was using the operation to lift his standing at home ahead of the midterm elections. "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," he wrote.

El-Sayed also wrote that the strike gave the administration "a fig leaf," showing that "even in Taliban hands, Afghanistan is not off-limits for direct action against terrorist targets." He added that if Biden truly wanted to project strength in the Middle East, he would confront some of the autocratic leaders in the region with whom the United States has traditionally been aligned.

Despite his criticism of the president, El-Sayed did not defend al-Zawahiri. He described the al-Qaeda leader as a "craven terrorist" who "died with the blood of innocent civilians on his hands."

The essay is not the first time El-Sayed has questioned a high-profile American military or counterterrorism action. After President Donald Trump ordered the 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, El-Sayed warned that "one shouldn't kick a rabid dog." When the Obama administration killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen living in Yemen, he called it an "extrajudicial assassination."

El-Sayed has also compared Trump to Osama bin Laden, suggesting that both inspired people to commit acts of terrorism and that Trump should be held to account as bin Laden was. American operators killed bin Laden in May 2011.

El-Sayed's campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Wednesday.