Leaving Afghanistan Will Make Counterterrorism 'Extremely Difficult'

WASHINGTON - The United States will face substantial hurdles if it has to return to Afghanistan — even briefly — to deal with new or growing terror threats once the military completes the planned withdrawal of forces from the country, a top U.S. general told lawmakers.  JUST IN: @DoD_IG report -citing @DefenseIntel- finds #Taliban has NOT cut off #alQaida in #Afghanistan "The Taliban continues to maintain relations with alQaida...members were integrated into Taliban forces & command structures" per acting DoD Inspector General Sean O'Donnell "We're going to go to zero in #Afghanistan" per @CENTCOM's Gen McKenzie "There will be no US forces on the ground there""We will use a variety of means to monitor #alQaida & #ISIS...intelligence will decline" he says "But we will still be able to see into Afghanistan"

 The warning Tuesday from the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and parts of South Asia comes as military planners are still working on how to bring home all 2,500 to 3,500 troops in Afghanistan starting next month, ending two decades of war.  "I don't want to make light of it. I don't put on rose-colored glasses and say it's going to be easy to do," said U.S. Central Command's General Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie Jr. as he told members of the House Armed Services Committee of the possible need for future counterterrorism missions.  "We're examining this problem with all of our resources right now to find a way to do it in the most intelligent, risk-free manner that we can," he said. "It's going to be extremely difficult."