The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. This from Abby Liebing in westernjournal.com.
In the midst of the death and destruction of the Taliban takeover, it is actually the Islamic State that is now benefiting greatly from Joe Biden’s obviously poor planning. And the U.S. may very well be the loser in the grand scheme of it all.
Men cover graves of victims after a burial in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Oct. 16, a day after 41 people were killed and scores
were injured in a suicide bomb attack claimed by the Islamic State group in a Shiite mosque. (Javed Tanveer – AFP / Getty Images)
During all the years that the U.S. was present in the Afghanistan, they were training elite Afghan military units. Now, some of those U.S.-trained members are joining the Islamic State-Khorasan in defiance of the Taliban. And as a means of survival–join ISIS-K or be killed by the Taliban. Not a difficult choice.
The Taliban and ISIS-K are bitter enemies, and the war between them in Afghanistan has never ceased. In fact, when the Taliban took over the country, the fighting increased as the groups began targeting each other’s fighters and leaders. But now, ISIS-K could gain the upper hand as they gain elite Afghan officers.
According to an exclusive report from The Wall Street Journal, the group of Afghan defectors to ISIS-K is still small but may be growing.
Various Afghan officials told the paper of previous members of the Afghan military and intelligence branches who disappeared and then reappeared as fighters for the Islamic State.
Though ISIS-K may appall many, it does make sense that Afghan officers would be joining its ranks. After years of working with Americans to stave off the Taliban, it’s logical that they would then join the only real organized resistance to the Taliban.
No matter what else ISIS-K is embroiled in or planning, it has set itself up as the main opponent of the Taliban.
Besides just being the resistance to the Taliban, ISIS-K could also provide protection to Afghan officers who previously were allied with the United States. The Taliban promised amnesty to those who worked with Americans, but there seems to be little trust in this promise.
“Hundreds of thousands of former Afghan republic intelligence officers, soldiers and police personnel are unemployed and afraid for their lives despite pledges of amnesty from the Taliban,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
This whole development is deeply concerning to the U.S., and rightly so. Not only has the government inadvertently funded ISIS-K terrorism as Afghan officers they trained are joining the organization, but the terror of the Islamic State will eventually be directed at America.
In a way, the U.S. may have funded an attack against itself.
Originally, it might have been assumed that the Taliban would be able to curb ISIS-K, but Kahl clarified that, though the Taliban are highly motivated to beat down the Islamic State, “their ability to do so, I think, is to be determined,” according to Middle Eastern news site Gandhara.
In this violent fight between the Taliban and ISIS-K, the U.S. is caught in the middle with hostility coming from both sides. There are simply no winners in this triangle of conflict, and the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw American troops simply brought everything to a head.
The military genius of Joe Biden is astounding. I envision in decades to come, Biden’s name will appear alongside the likes of Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great in exhaustive studies on Afghanistan (sarcasm).
Final thought, a question: Will Civil War in Afghanistan be a bad outcome for America—short-term and long-term?
God speed to the powers of right and true.
