WH Spox Kirby: Zawahiri's Presence in Kabul Was Threat to U.S. That 'Some Senior Leaders' of Taliban-Linked Haqqani Network Knew of

On Monday's broadcast of MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show," White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby responded to a question on whether the Taliban knew of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri's presence in Kabul by stating that "some senior leaders of the Haqqani Network" -- a group whose head, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is Interior Minister in Afghanistan -- "were aware. And we know that from the way that they tried to cover things up over the last 24, 48 hours." Kirby also stated that Zawahiri's presence in Kabul was a threat to the U.S. homeland "because he has been actively involved in planning and plotting threats against our homeland going forward."