Marine Corps General (retd) Frank McKenzie, who is overseeing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, has said that the US cannot trust the Afghan Taliban.
The U.S. Marine, who will head U.S. Central Command from 2019 to 2022, added that he believes the Afghan Taliban will only act for their own interests and cannot be trusted.
“They actually have a long-standing familial and traditional relationship with al Qaeda … I think that relationship is stronger than any possible relationship they choose with the United States,” McKenzie said.
His comments came during an interview with CBS News on Sept. 10 — a day before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that shocked the world and marked the biggest in the “war on terror” ever. Began the American Offshore Expedition.
During the interview, the retired commander said that one of the reasons the U.S. was in Afghanistan was to “prevent the country from being used as a base from which to gather power and attack either our homelands or our homelands.” but may direct or encourage attacks.”
He added: “As a result of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is now much more difficult for us to achieve these objectives.”
Since his retirement, McKenzie has not disclosed the fact that he opposed President Biden and President Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.
He also suggested that 25,000 US troops be left behind in Afghanistan to ensure a US presence in the region. However, US President Biden denied receiving any such advice.
Commenting on the August 26, 2021 attack on Kabul airport, which killed 13 American soldiers and more than 150 Afghan civilians as Americans worked to withdraw from the country, the former head of US Central Command said: “Many threats were being worked on. Time”.
“As the days wound up to August 26…we were looking at four main threats.”
We were looking at a car that had an IED attack, a car that had a bomb … we were looking at the kind of suicide vest attack that actually happened on the 26th [and] we indirectly Fire rockets or mortars were seen directed against the airport.
“And then we were looking at the possibility of an insider attack, someone who walked through our checkpoints and — with a bomb and was able to land it either in a crowded terminal area or on an airplane,” McKenzie said.
Although McKenzie admitted that “the strike was a tragic mistake”, the Pentagon decided in December 2021 that no military personnel would be punished for the attack.
