(TheRedAlertNews.com) – According to an exclusive report in today’s Washington Post based on a classified Pentagon assessment, “Less than two years after President Biden withdrew U.S. personnel from Afghanistan, the country has become a significant coordination site for the Islamic State as the terrorist group plans attacks across Europe and Asia, and conducts ‘aspirational plotting’ against the United States.”
In summary, according to U.S. intelligence findings leaked on the Discord messaging platform and obtained by the Post, the attack planning reveals specific efforts to target embassies, churches, business centers, and the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, which attracted over 2 million spectators in Qatar.
Pentagon officials were aware of nine such plots in December, which increased to 15 by February.
The assessment states that ISIS has been developing a cost-effective model for external operations relying on resources outside Afghanistan, operatives in target countries, and extensive facilitation networks.
This model will likely enable ISIS to overcome obstacles and minimize disruption opportunities.
The Afghanistan findings are one aspect of a complex and evolving terrorist threat described in the leaked documents. Other reports reveal persistent efforts by ISIS to obtain expertise for creating chemical weapons, operating drone aircraft, and a plot to kidnap Iraqi diplomats in Belgium or France to secure the release of 4,000 imprisoned militants.
These documents will likely be used by congressional Republicans and others critical of the Biden administration’s chaotic management of the U.S. exit from Afghanistan in August 2021.
The hastily organized evacuation enabled over 120,000 people to flee the Taliban’s return to power but left tens of thousands of American allies behind. The two-week operation saw horrific suffering, with an Islamic State suicide bomber killing approximately 170 Afghans and 13 American troops and a botched U.S. drone airstrike killing ten civilians.
Biden administration officials declined to verify the leaked documents’ authenticity but defended their counterterrorism record since taking office.
Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, stated that the United States maintains the ability to remove terrorists from the battlefield without permanent troop presence on the ground and has reorganized U.S. counterterrorism operations to address future threats “anywhere.”
A senior U.S. defense official said that, historically, the number of ISIS plots has fluctuated, with many never occurring. In Afghanistan, the Taliban has served as a check on the ISIS affiliate known as Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K), as the two groups have warred openly.
What is your reaction to classified documents showing that “Less than two years after President Biden withdrew U.S. personnel from Afghanistan, the country has become a significant coordination site for the Islamic State as the terrorist group plans attacks across Europe and Asia, and conducts ‘aspirational plotting’ against the United States”? Are you surprised that Afghanistan is once again a danger to the United States and the rest of the world? Share your thoughts by emailing [email protected]. Thank you.
Less than two years after President Biden withdrew U.S. personnel from Afghanistan, the country has become a significant coordination site for the Islamic State as the terrorist group plans attacks across Europe and Asia, and conducts “aspirational plotting” against the United…
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 22, 2023
