Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Sunday (April 18) that the threat posed to the United States by al-Qaida from Afghanistan has been “significantly downgraded. He mentioned that the next U.S. goals include focusing on matters such as U.S.-China relations and the epidemic.
Blinken told ABC, “We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago, we went because we were attacked on 9/11, and we’re going to defend ourselves against the people who attacked us on 9/11 and make sure that Afghanistan doesn’t become a haven for terrorism against the United States or our allied partners again,” and “we achieved what we set out to achieve. And we achieved what we were trying to achieve.”
He added, “Al Qaeda has degraded considerably. It does not now have the capability to launch attacks against the United States from Afghanistan.”
President Joe Biden announced April 14 that about 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. In addition to the U.S. troops, the NATO coalition and Australia, which have about 7,000 troops stationed there, will also initiate the withdrawal.
Blinken said the U.S. has engaged in very thoughtful consideration and that the threat to the United States has changed in the two decades since the war began.
Over time, he added, “the terrorist threat has shifted elsewhere.”
“We have other very important items on our agenda, including dealing with the Chinese (Communist) state, including dealing with everything from climate change to the Covid (Communist virus outbreak). That’s where we have to focus our efforts and resources,” Blinken said.
In addition to the terrorist threat to the U.S. or other countries, there are strong concerns that the Taliban will rebel after the withdrawal. Blinken doesn’t seem to share that view, saying, “What everybody recognizes is that conflict doesn’t help solve military problems. So if they start something again, they’re going to be in a long war, and that’s not in their interest.”
Blinken said the U.S. will be fully committed to supporting peace talks in the country, which should resume in the coming weeks with a summit hosted by Turkey.
“If the Taliban is going to engage in governance in some way, if it wants international recognition, if it doesn’t want to be a pariah, it has to engage in the political process,” he said.
Blinken also mentioned that the government “will make sure that we have the right assets to watch the situation (referring to the resurgence of terrorism in the area) and that if it reappears, we can detect it and be able to deal with it.”
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