Leaked intelligence documents seen by the Washington Post indicate that Afghanistan has again become a safe haven for terrorists. This time, it’s not just al Qaeda that is benefiting. The Islamic State is also using the Central Asian nation as a hub to plan attacks. Europe and the Middle East have already been the focus of numerous ISIS plots originating in Afghanistan, and plots targeting the United States are “aspirational.”
This is just one more concerning example of President Joe Biden‘s uncomfortable relationship with the truth. He recently attempted a ludicrous whitewash of his Afghanistan withdrawal debacle that even many Biden allies found hard to swallow.
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This scandal endangers U.S. lives. Announcing the withdrawal of all American forces from Afghanistan on Aug. 31, 2021, Biden claimed, “We have what’s called over-the-horizon capabilities, which means we can strike terrorists and targets without American boots on the ground — or very few, if needed.” Explicitly identifying ISIS’s threat, Biden boastfully proclaimed, “We are not done with you yet.”
Apparently, ISIS is not done with America yet, either.
This situation was predictable. We noted during the withdrawal that U.S. “over-the-horizon capabilities” in Afghanistan would always be hamstrung without a ground presence. It is only thus that we can recruit spies inside terrorist groups. People are needed in place to monitor groups as events unfold and employ locals to join that effort. In-country bases also allow us to station aircraft and drones for immediate use where they will be needed rather than thousands of miles away.
As the July 2022 killing of al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri showed, the U.S. can still sometimes identify and successfully target terrorists. But without a ground presence, the scale and capability of intelligence operations and related military options are limited. That is why ISIS is growing in capability and ambition. It knows Biden has given it space, and it means to use it.
The U.S. could have kept perhaps 2,500 U.S. forces in Afghanistan to support and steel the Afghan government and to gather better intelligence. U.S. forces suffered 11 casualties in 2020, and all should be deeply regretted. But their presence in Afghanistan provided security for contractors helping Afghan forces maintain their aircraft and logistics. They operated drones able to reach terrorists within minutes or hours of receiving information about their location. They put pressure on terrorists where and when needed. These U.S. forces did what the 9/11 terrorist attacks required of them: They prevented Afghanistan from being a safe haven for further attacks on the U.S. homeland.
Congress should call the former commanding officer of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, to testify on what advice he gave the administration. As the last evacuation flights left Kabul in late August 2021, McKenzie said the U.S. would “always retain the ability to [target terrorists effectively in Afghanistan].” One month later, he slightly changed his tune, saying, “It will not be easy to [go after terrorists in Afghanistan]. It will be possible to do that.” The divergence between these statements deserves scrutiny.
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Biden made a political decision that he wanted the U.S. out of Afghanistan at any cost. ISIS is now taking predictable advantage of his folly. How long will it be before a successful terrorist attack on the West is traced back to Afghanistan?
It is a terrible question to have to ask, but Biden has made it impossible not to.
