Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense, said in a Senate hearing on Thursday that it would likely take some two years for the Afghan terror groups to regenerate enough to pose an international threat
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th June, 2021) Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense, said in a Senate hearing on Thursday that it would likely take some two years for the Afghan terror groups to regenerate enough to pose an international threat.
When asked to rate the likelihood of international terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda or Islamic State (both banned in Russia) regenerating inside Afghanistan and presenting a threat to the United States and its allies based on the current situation, Austin said, "I would assess it as medium."
"I would also say, Senator, that it would take possibly two years for them to develop that capability," Austin said.
General Mark Milley, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is also testifying at the Senate, echoed Austin's assessment.
"I think that if certain other things happen, if there was a collapse of the government or dissolution of the Afghan Security forces, that risk would obviously increase, but right now it's a medium and about two years or so," Milley said.
On May 1, the United States and NATO began pulling their troops out of Afghanistan. American forces are expected to leave by September 11, the 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks against the United States that sparked the so-called War on Terror by then-President George W. Bush.
Armed violence continues in Afghanistan despite the Kabul-Taliban peace talks and the start of the withdrawal of foreign troops. The negotiations and the troop pullout are a part of the 2020 US-Taliban peace deal signed in 2020, which also committed the radical movement to reducing violence and cutting ties with terrorists.
