The CIA Faces Tough Challenges In Afghanistan

In this Nov. 30, 2017, file photo, American soldiers wait on the tarmac in Logar province, Afghanistan. The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan is leaving intelligence agencies scrambling for other ways to monitor and stop terrorists. They’ll have to depend more on technology and their allies in Afghan government — even as it faces an increasingly uncertain future once U.S. and NATO forces depart. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)  

NPR: With The U.S. Military Gone, The CIA Faces Tough Challenges In Afghanistan 

Just days after the Sept. 11 attack, a handful of CIA officers were the first Americans sent into Afghanistan. Gary Schroen was one of them, and he recalled his marching orders. 

"Link up with the Northern Alliance [rebels], get their cooperation militarily, and they will take on the Taliban," he said in a 2005 interview with NPR. "And when we break the Taliban, your job is to capture [Osama] bin Laden, kill him and bring his head back in a box on dry ice." 

CIA paramilitary operations date back to the agency's founding. Yet in Afghanistan and elsewhere, these actions against the Taliban, al-Qaida and others became a defining feature of the spy agency over the past two decades. They've been marked by successes — and major controversies.  

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Update: Afghan pullout has US spies reorienting in terrorism fight (AP)  

WNU Editor: The main challenge the CIA is going to have in Afghanistan is not having any bases in Afghanistan (and on the borders of Afghanistan) to launch their operations. The Pakistani PM has been very clear about that .... Pakistan PM will "absolutely not" allow CIA to use bases for Afghanistan operations (Axios).