Zawahri’s Kabul dying raises questions on al Qaeda presence in Afghanistan after US left it to the Taliban – #information
Al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahri’s dying in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is elevating questions on whether or not the nation is getting used as a base of operations for the terrorist group.
“What unnerves me is that Al Zawahri felt snug sufficient being out within the open within the Kabul space after the Taliban takeover,” stated Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “A lot for the Taliban rejecting al-Qaeda. That is proof constructive that Afghanistan has as soon as once more change into a secure haven for worldwide terrorists.”
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Nationwide safety consultants say Zawahri’s presence inside the nation alerts a troubling relationship between al Qaeda and the Taliban. The 2 organizations have lengthy co-existed alongside each other, sharing related techniques and ideologies.
“There isn’t any doubt that they have been brothers — the Taliban and al Qaeda,” stated retired four-star Basic Jack Keane, a former vice chief of employees of the US Military. “It isn’t stunning that Zawahri returned to his household in Kabul, in reality, the home that he was in belonged to an aide to a senior Taliban official.”
(Hamid Mir/Editor/Ausaf Newspaper for Each day Daybreak/Handout through REUTERS/File Picture)
Zawahri was killed by a U.S.-led drone strike over the weekend. The 71-year-old al Qaeda chief had dominated the terrorist group because the dying of Osama bin Laden in July 2011.
A one-time surgeon, Zawahri was recognized by U.S. intelligence as a terrorist mastermind for serving to plot the September 11, 2001, terrorist assaults.
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“We make it clear once more tonight that regardless of how lengthy it takes, regardless of the place you disguise, if you’re a risk to our individuals, the US will discover you and take you out,” stated President Biden.
The drone strike was the primary one publicly acknowledged by the White Home since U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan final yr. The withdrawal noticed the U.S. abandon billions in navy tools, air bases, and prisons filled with enemy combatants to the Taliban.
A lady sporting a burka walks by means of the previous market as a Taliban fighter stands guard, in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Could 8, 2022. Afghan ladies are livid and fearful over a current decree by the nation’s Taliban leaders that reinstated the burqa and related outfits as necessary for them in public. However some are defying the strict interpretation of Islamic gown codes, venturing out with much less restrictive variations than that which the Taliban demanded — outfits that solely reveal their eyes. (AP Picture/Ebrahim Noroozi)
(AP)
Given Zawahri’s presence in Afghanistan, nationwide safety consultants say there are considerations the Taliban is permitting al Qaeda to make use of the nation as its base of operation for conducting terrorism.
“Afghanistan is a petri dish rising threats to the area and past,” stated Dan Hoffman, a former director of the CIA’s Center East and North Africa division. “The one lesson we discovered from September 11 is you could’t give these guys ungoverned area.”
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The White Home stated Monday that Zawahri had urged his followers in current weeks to mobilize and assault the US and its allies. Biden informed the general public throughout a prime-time handle that Zawahri’s dying is a part of a dedication by the U.S. to “by no means once more enable Afghanistan to change into a terrorist” secure haven.
Some nationwide safety consultants query, nevertheless, whether or not the administration has the assets at its disposal to stay as much as that pledge.
Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahri speaks on the eleventh Anniversary of Usama bin Laden’s dying
(AP Picture/Mazhar Ali Khan, File)
“Even the American authorities has solely so many assets to dedicate to counterterrorism, significantly with the scenario in Russia, China, and Ukraine,” stated James Jefferey, who served as former President Donald Trump’s particular envoy for combating ISIS. “It does not imply we can’t go after al Qaeda sooner or later, however there are a number of bother spots already on the market.”
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