'Taliban has not broken ties with Al-Qaida': US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman

Days after the CIA warned of the possibility of terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda regrouping in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, in his first congressional testimony on the tumultuous withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, reiterated the same.

"Taliban still has not broken ties with Al-Qaida," General Milley said warning of the possibility of Al-Qaida and the Taliban bolstering creating a terror threat for the United States. Milley predicted the next 12 to 36 months to be crucial for the USA to ascertain any future attacks planned against America. 

It is worth noting that the militant Sunni Islamist multi-national terrorist organisation which had attacked the United States on 11 September 2001, had executed their plan from Afghanistan. Subsequently, the US invaded the war-ravaged country in October, resulting in the collapse of the Taliban-ruled government in 2001. "And we must remember that the Taliban was and remains a terrorist organisation and they still have not broken ties with Al Qaida," Milley said, adding, "I have no illusions about who we are dealing with. It remains to be seen whether or not the Taliban can consolidate power or if the country will further fracture into civil war."

Hard but possible to track real-time movement of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan: Milley

When asked about keeping real-time track of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff asserted that the task sounded "a little bit difficult but could be possible without troops on the ground". He declined to reveal what advice he had given to US President Joe Biden regarding a full troop withdrawal from the war-torn country.

Earlier this month, Michael Morell, who served as acting Central Intelligence Agency director twice, during an online forum sponsored by the US Attorney's Office, speculated that the Taliban would invite Al-Qaida to rebuild its base in Afghanistan. Morell, who had briefed then US President George W Bush on 11 September 2001, said he believed that the Taliban would proffer a safe haven to Al-Qaida in order to target the United States.

Al-Qaida bounced back as soon as focus shifted to other terror outfits: CIA veteran

According to the CIA veteran, who briefed former US President Barack Obama on the intelligence that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden, counterterrorism efforts fall into a pattern in which their abilities could be easily degraded. However, he noted that Al-Qaida bounced back as soon as the focus shifted to other terror organisations.

Citing the example of the year 2002 and 2003, he pointed out that when the US shifted its focus to Iraq, the terrorist group rebuilt their base and carried out several attacks, including the 2004 Madrid attack and the London attack in 2005.

(With inputs from AP, Image: ANI)