Al Qaeda Is Back In Afghanistan

A member of Taliban forces keeps watch at a checkpost in Kabul, Afghanistan August 17, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer  

Robin Wright, New Yorker: Afghanistan, Again, Becomes a Cradle for Jihadism—and Al Qaeda 

The terrorist group has outlasted the trillion-dollar U.S. investment in Afghanistan since 9/11

In March, I travelled to Afghanistan and the Middle East with General Kenneth (Frank) McKenzie, Jr., the Alabama-born marine who heads Central Command. He has been overseeing the frantic evacuation out of Kabul. During one of several interviews aboard his plane, I asked him, “Do you really think, given the intermarriage, the interweaving of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, that the Taliban is really ever going to be able or willing to restrain Al Qaeda from doing anything against us?” By then, the Taliban held roughly half of Afghanistan, a country about the size of Texas. McKenzie was chillingly candid. “I think it will be very hard for the Taliban to act against Al Qaeda, to actually limit their ability to attack outside the country,” he replied. “It’s possible, but I think it would be difficult.” 

For more than a year, both the Trump and Biden Administrations had reams of warnings—from the military and diplomats, congressional reports and a commissioned study group, its own inspector general, and the United Nations—that the collapse of the Afghan government, an ever-growing possibility, would also mean a resurgence of Al Qaeda. In April, a U.S. intelligence assessment warned Congress that Al Qaeda’s senior leadership “will continue to plot attacks and seek to exploit conflicts in different regions.” The jihadist group, which carried out the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, was active in fifteen of Afghanistan’s thirty-four provinces, primarily in the eastern and southern regions, the United Nations reported in June. The Taliban and Al Qaeda remained “closely aligned and show no indication of breaking ties,” it noted, as like-minded militants celebrated developments in Afghanistan as a victory for “global radicalism.” In a haunting final report on the lessons learned from America’s longest war, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, warned that the U.S. decision to pull out the last U.S. troops “left uncertain whether even the modest gains of the last two decades will prove sustainable.” The decision to pull out was made by President Trump in February last year, with the timetable decided by President Biden in April this year.  

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WNU Editor: Even the US Secretary of State is acknowledging the obvious .... Blinken admits al Qaeda not 'gone' from Afghanistan despite Biden's claim (FOX News).

Update: Could Afghanistan under Taliban rule become a haven for Islamist militants? (DW).

U.S. Officials Worry That Al Qaeda Will Re-Emerge In Afghanistan

General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, speaks during news conference, in Kabul, Afghanistan © REUTERS/Staff  

NBC: Potential Al Qaeda resurgence in Afghanistan worries U.S. officials 

Gen. Frank McKenzie told NBC News that he does not believe the Taliban will stop Al Qaeda from using Afghanistan to strengthen and rebuild. 

With the Taliban steamrolling across Afghanistan, U.S. defense officials are concerned that a Taliban takeover of the country will allow Al Qaeda to rebuild and consolidate, creating security concerns well outside Afghan borders. 

Nearly 20 years after it planned the Sept. 11 attacks from Afghanistan, Al Qaeda has a diminished presence in the country, which senior U.S. officials estimate at only 200 to 300 members. 

"They're really not a very large or what we would consider a capable contingent," one of the officials said.  

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WNU Editor: Someone has to tell these Pentagon officials that with Afghanistan on the verge of collapse, they have lost all credibility on predicting what will happen next. 

And as for Al Qaeda re-emerging in Afghanistan. They are already there .... Al-Qaeda operates under Taliban protection: UN report (IANS). More here .... Al Qaeda present in 15 Afghan provinces: UN (DAWN).

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Says Al-Qaida Could Regroup In Afghanistan In 2 Years

 

VOA: US Defense Chief Warns of al-Qaida, IS Rebound in Afghanistan 

WASHINGTON - Top U.S. defense officials are sounding a dire warning about the danger Afghanistan’s top terror groups will pose to America once the last U.S. and coalition troops leave the country in the coming months. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers Thursday that it will take groups like al-Qaida or Islamic State “possibly about two years” to regenerate the capability to plan attacks against the United States and its Western allies. 

 The nation’s top-ranking military officer, Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, further warned that this timeline could be accelerated depending on the fate of the current Afghan government.  

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WNU Editor: Al Qaeda is already in Afghanistan. It does not need 2 years to regenerate ... U.N. report cites new intelligence on Haqqanis’ close ties to al Qaeda (Long War Journal). 

More News On U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Saying Al-Qaida Could Regroup In Afghanistan In 2 Years  

Al-Qaida could regroup in Afghanistan in 2 years, says US defense secretary -- Military Times/AP  

Militant groups could pose threat to U.S. in two years from Afghanistan -Pentagon leaders -- Reuters  

Pentagon leaders see 'medium' risk of terrorists regrouping in Afghanistan -- The Hill  

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: Al Qaeda could regroup in Afghanistan in 2 years -- FOX News  

Isis and Al Qaeda to regroup within two years of US withdrawing from Afghanistan, Pentagon says -- The Independent