Slain al Qaeda leader’s presence in Kabul strains U.S.
Top helper to President Joe Biden slammed the Taliban for letting the Al Qaeda leader stay in the capital of Afghanistan and promised to hold the militant group accountability – intensifying the tension between Washington and Kabul.
Speaking a few days after the U.S. drone strike Killing Ayman Al-Zawahri, a senior US official warned that America would not allow Afghanistan to become a paradise for terrorists.
The Taliban, meanwhile, accused the United States of violating “international principles” by releasing a weekend drone attack on the boss of Al Qaeda.The accusation of reciprocity came when US officials and Taliban leaders had discussed ways to release around $ 3.5 billion in the Afghan government funds frozen by the U.S.
Since the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan almost a year ago, the country has sneered into the humanitarian crisis. U.S. Official Want to direct money to help the suffering of Afghanistan, but they are worried that the money will enter the Taliban treasury and fund terrorism.
I think the presence of Zawahri on the Taliban Safehouse should be a nail in the coffin from any plan to release funds directly to the Taliban,” said Nathan Sales, who served as ambassador and coordinator for counterterrorism from 2017 to 2021. “They cannot be trusted and and The risk is substantial that the money released to them will find their path for sure and go straight to the pocket of Al Qaeda. “
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday accused the Taliban of violating the Pact of the Pact of being part of the discussion in Qatar which helped cause the withdrawal of U.S. troops. from Afghanistan.
my being a host and protecting the Al Qaeda leader in Kabul, the Taliban violently violated the Doha agreement and repeating guarantees to the world that they would not let Afghanistan be used by terrorists to threaten the security of other countries,” Blinken said into a statement. “They also betrayed Afghan people and their own desires to recognize and normalize the international community.”
Jake Sullivan’s national security adviser said the US believes that senior members of the Haqqani network, who have been affiliated with the Taliban and Al Qaeda, know the presence of Al-Zawahri in Kabul, while others in the broader Taliban may not have.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, accused the Taliban of taking steps after strikes to try to cover evidence that the group kept Al-Zawahri and his family. He vowed that the US would not allow Afghanistan to return to being a paradise for terrorists.
I think if you ask the Al Qaeda members, ask them how safe they feel in Afghanistan now, I think we prove to them well this weekend that it is not a safe place and will not happen in the future,” Kirby said.
A senior administrative official also told reporters on Monday that, after the drone strike, the Haqqani network member limited access to the DPR.
We communicate directly with the Taliban about their obligation not to allow Al Qaeda to use Afghanistan as a [basis] to plan,” Sullivan told CBS News. That includes telling the Taliban about “our capacity to ask for their accountability because it does not meet their commitment,” he added.
We are ready to take further action to ensure that Afghanistan will never again be used as a [base] to attack Americans,” Sullivan said. He did not offer further details.
The Taliban government, who called itself “Afghan Islamic Emirates,” said that the United States who had violated Doha’s agreement and “international principles.” That might be a reference to violate a country’s sovereignty through drone attacks.Repeating such actions will damage the opportunities that exist,” the group warned in a statement.
There was a glimmer of hope after the Doha Agreement in 2020 that Washington could work with the Taliban about limited problems.
