US Defense Chief Warns of al-Qaida, IS Rebound in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON - Top U.S. defense officials are sounding a dire warning about the danger Afghanistan’s top terror groups will pose to America once the last U.S. and coalition troops leave the country in the coming months. "That is true for the Af-Pak region just as it is true for #Iraq-#Syria, for North #Africa & various other areas where an #ISIS & #alQaida presence, in particular remain" per #NCTC nominee Abizaid, noting need for "relentless pressure" "We are talking to a wide range of countries about how we build effective over-the-horizon capacity, both from an intelligence & from a defense perspective" per @JakeSullivan46 #Afghanistan #Pakistan #alQaida #ISIS

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers Thursday that it will take groups like al-Qaida or Islamic State “possibly about two years” to regenerate the capability to plan attacks against the United States and its Western allies. The nation’s top-ranking military officer, Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, further warned that this timeline could be accelerated depending on the fate of the current Afghan government. “If there was a collapse of the government or a dissolution of the Afghan security forces, that risk would obviously increase,” Milley said.