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KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban government on Saturday seized on a surprising statement by US President Joe Biden to underscore their claim that there is no al-Qaida threat in the country.
Biden was leaving a press conference on Friday about the US Supreme Court’s decision to block his student debt relief program when a reporter asked if he had admitted mistakes during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A transcript from the White House read: “No, no. All evidence is coming back.”
“Do you remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said al Qaeda wouldn’t be there. I said it wouldn’t be there. I said we’d get help from the Taliban. What’s going on now? What’s going on? Read your press? I was right.”
The question was prompted by a report on Friday that said US officials were blocked during mass evacuations from Afghanistan in 2021 by a lack of clear decision-making, an absence of centralized crisis management and confusing public messaging.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken ordered a so-called post-work review after outrage over the chaotic scenes in Kabul. Taliban fighters He seized control after the end of the 20-year US military presence.
On Saturday, the Afghan Foreign Ministry seized on Biden’s suspension.
“We consider US President Joe Biden’s statements regarding the absence of armed groups in Afghanistan as a recognition of reality,” the ministry said in a statement.
It refutes the latest report of the UN sanctions monitoring team which alleges the existence and operation of more than two dozen armed groups in Afghanistan.
In May, a United Nations report said there were indications that armed groups such as al-Qaeda were rebuilding in the country.
“The link between the Taliban and both al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) remains strong and symbiotic,” she added.
“A range of terrorist groups have more freedom to maneuver under the Taliban’s de facto authorities. They are making good use of that, and the threat of terrorism is rising both in Afghanistan and in the region.”
The Taliban rulers in Afghanistan insist that they do not allow the country’s territory to be used by armed groups plotting against other countries, and deny the existence of al-Qaeda.
They did not acknowledge the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a US drone strike in central Kabul last year, saying that investigations into the incident are continuing.
Biden was leaving a press conference on Friday about the US Supreme Court’s decision to block his student debt relief program when a reporter asked if he had admitted mistakes during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A transcript from the White House read: “No, no. All evidence is coming back.”
“Do you remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said al Qaeda wouldn’t be there. I said it wouldn’t be there. I said we’d get help from the Taliban. What’s going on now? What’s going on? Read your press? I was right.”
The question was prompted by a report on Friday that said US officials were blocked during mass evacuations from Afghanistan in 2021 by a lack of clear decision-making, an absence of centralized crisis management and confusing public messaging.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken ordered a so-called post-work review after outrage over the chaotic scenes in Kabul. Taliban fighters He seized control after the end of the 20-year US military presence.
On Saturday, the Afghan Foreign Ministry seized on Biden’s suspension.
“We consider US President Joe Biden’s statements regarding the absence of armed groups in Afghanistan as a recognition of reality,” the ministry said in a statement.
It refutes the latest report of the UN sanctions monitoring team which alleges the existence and operation of more than two dozen armed groups in Afghanistan.
In May, a United Nations report said there were indications that armed groups such as al-Qaeda were rebuilding in the country.
“The link between the Taliban and both al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) remains strong and symbiotic,” she added.
“A range of terrorist groups have more freedom to maneuver under the Taliban’s de facto authorities. They are making good use of that, and the threat of terrorism is rising both in Afghanistan and in the region.”
The Taliban rulers in Afghanistan insist that they do not allow the country’s territory to be used by armed groups plotting against other countries, and deny the existence of al-Qaeda.
They did not acknowledge the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a US drone strike in central Kabul last year, saying that investigations into the incident are continuing.
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