{"id":66207,"date":"2021-10-26T15:11:20","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T15:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/10\/26\/terrorist-groups-in-afghanistan-could-launch-international-strikes-within-six-months-officials-warn\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:32:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:32:24","slug":"terrorist-groups-in-afghanistan-could-launch-international-strikes-within-six-months-officials-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/10\/26\/terrorist-groups-in-afghanistan-could-launch-international-strikes-within-six-months-officials-warn\/","title":{"rendered":"Terrorist groups in Afghanistan could launch international strikes within six months, officials warn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Terrorist groups within <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\">Afghanistan <\/a>could strike international targets within six months if left unchecked, defense officials warned lawmakers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re actually fairly certain that they have the intention to do so,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2021\/04\/27\/bidens-pentagon-policy-chief-colin-kahl-poised-for-confirmation-with-gop-senators-absent\/\" target=\"_blank\">Colin Kahl<\/a>, the Defense Department\u2019s undersecretary for policy, during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the security situation in Afghanistan following the U.S. military\u2019s withdrawal from the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe could see ISIS-K generate that capability in somewhere between six or 12 months, according to current assessments by the intelligence committee. And for al Qaida, it would take a year or two to reconstitute that capability. We have to remain vigilant against that possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/09\/24\/us-wont-be-asking-taliban-permission-to-strike-terror-groups-in-afghanistan\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Year_Photos3_Pilots.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US won\u2019t be asking Taliban permission to strike terror groups in Afghanistan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Counterterror strikes from abroad will be cleared through the Taliban.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kahl\u2019s public comments confirmed intelligence assessments delivered to lawmakers in classified sessions over recent weeks, and raise new concerns about the long-term threat posed to the American homeland by a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All American military forces left the country at the end of August, ending the nearly 20-year U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. In the days preceding that departure, the country\u2019s democratic government and U.S.-backed security forces collapsed, creating a rush of refugees attempting to flee the country and allowing Taliban fighters to take control of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, conservative lawmakers have attacked President Joe Biden for the move, saying his withdrawal plan made both Afghanistan and America less safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kahl was the latest in a series of defense officials to testify in the eight weeks since the departure, and offered a similar defense of the decision to end the ongoing deployment this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe war as we know it isn\u2019t continuing, but the terrorist threat continues,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we saw unfold in the last few months would have happened whenever we left Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also said that intelligence officials say the risk to the American homeland \u201cis at its lowest point since Sept. 11, 2001\u2033 despite the intentions of terrorist organizations working to regroup in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Conservative lawmakers bristled at the comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt doesn\u2019t sound like a low risk when you have just told us that the possibility of an attack from ISIS-K on our homeland could come six to 12 months from now,\u201d said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Kahl said that is not a foregone conclusion, but instead a warning that U.S. officials must use their long-range anti-terrorism capabilities to make sure the groups don\u2019t gain strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/10\/23\/senior-al-qaida-leader-killed-in-northwest-syria-drone-strike-centcom\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Air-Tunnels_main-Image-0319.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Senior al-Qaida leader killed in northwest Syria drone strike: CENTCOM<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">For the second time in about a month, CENTCOM said a senior al-Qaida leader was killed in a drone strike in northwest Syria.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThose estimates from the intel community are based on no U.S. or coalition intervention,\u201d said Lt. Gen. James Mingus, director for operations for the Joint Staff. \u201cThe goal would be to keep those time horizons where they\u2019re at now or push them even further [with military strikes].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kahl said he also expects the Taliban to help, though not because of any goodwill to America or humanitarian concerns. \u201cThe Taliban and ISIS-K are mortal enemies. so the Taliban is heavily motivated to go after them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense officials did not give specifics on what counter-terrorism strikes will entail, but were scheduled to brief senators on specifics later on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Committee officials have also discussed the possibility of setting up an independent commission to look into the lingering threats and the missteps made by American leaders over the last 20 years in regards to security in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense officials say the threat demands vigilance from American forces, including counter-terrorism strikes in the 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