The only anchor in reality appears to be Biden suggesting that they knew how to take it out which seems like a pretty weak place to build a large story.
What I find particularly odd is that this entire thing appears to be based on a single, unnamed source "with direct knowledge of the operational planning".
Is this satire or what? His reputation is "as a nutcase" nowadays.
Most reputable editors, when given a secret-sources story, either reject it outright, or say "OK, tell me their names and let me talk to them."
If you're Hersh, maybe you get away with saying, "trust me."
But either he’s being fed this by someone with an agenda or he shares that agenda.
Conspiracy thinking ironically always includes blind credulity, just of other things.