The civil war will “likely” erupt in Afghanistan and this could lead to the resurgence of al-Qaeda, U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chief of staff, told Fox News on Saturday.
Leading the news: He told Jennifer Griffin of Fox News that it is too early to say whether the United States was safer now that U.S. troops have left Afghanistan, but it is “very likely” that there will be a resurgence of terrorism in the region. “in 12, 24, 36 months, and we’ll monitor it.”
- “My military estimate is that conditions are likely to develop [into] a civil war, “Milley said in an interview with Ramstein’s German air base.
- “I don’t know if the Taliban will be able to consolidate power and establish governance,” he continued.
- “But I think there is at least a very good chance of a wider civil war and that in turn will lead to conditions that could in fact lead to the reconstitution of al-Qaeda or the growth of ISIS. or countless other terrorist groups. “
Context: President Biden blamed ISIS-K for a suicide attack that killed 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops at Kabul International Airport just before the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country last month .
- U.S. General Kenneth McKenzie warned after the blast that these attacks by the ISP branch in Afghanistan would likely continue.
- Although U.S. forces helped drive the Taliban out of Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States over their links to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, the BBC notes that the group is neither a centralized nor a unified force.
- Al Qaeda’s power within the group is still unclear, but the Taliban released many of al-Qaeda’s top operatives when they captured Bagram Air Base last month.
In the meantime, the Taliban are fighting resistance forces in the Panjshir Valley, the latest obstacle in Afghanistan against the group.
Note: Milley also spoke with Griffin about the security measures being taken by U.S. officials to prosecute some 17,000 Afghan evacuees heading to the United States, such as registering names and conducting biometric checks, working with U.S. agencies to search for 20 years of databases.
- “They’ve had … I think they said a couple of hundred or something like that in red,” Milley said.
- “Once the individual comes out red, something happens; then they go into a single room and start interviewing” with FBI and other agency officials to examine the issues, Milley noted.
“In many cases, they end up being eliminated and in others we have to take additional action. But I’m very comfortable that, as you know, these people are being properly cleaned up through the FBI.”
In depth: The joint presidency of the leaders increases the terrorist threat in Afghanistan