The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Army General Mark Milley, stated Wednesday (local time) that it's "possible" that the US may seek to coordinate counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan with the Taliban against Islamic State terrorists or others.
Milley didn't go into detail, and his remark didn't appear to imply that he had any immediate plans to cooperate with the Taliban.
Over the past three weeks, US military leaders have coordinated daily with Taliban commanders outside Kabul airport to arrange the evacuation of more than 124,000 individuals. However, this was purely a question of convenience for both parties and does not necessarily imply that they will pursue, or even want, a regular relationship in the future.
The Taliban were deposed by the US military in the fall of 2001, and the US military fought them for the next 19 years.
One of the important issues to be worked out now that the conflict is finished is the scope and form of US-Taliban cooperation. The US Embassy in Kabul has been relocated to Doha, Qatar. President Joe Biden has stated multiple times recently that the Taliban are openly hostile to the Islamic State in Afghanistan, implying a common interest with the US.
Milley described the Taliban as "ruthless" during a Pentagon news conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, adding that "whether or not they change remains to be seen" He argued that the recent Afghan airport cooperation with the Taliban was not necessarily a paradigm for the future.
"In war, you do what you must in order to reduce risk to mission and force, not what you necessarily want to do," Milley explained.
In reaction to an IS suicide attack at a Kabul airport gate last week that killed hundreds of Afghans and 13 American service personnel, Biden has promised more targeting of the IS group in Afghanistan. The US military says two IS planners were killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan on Saturday. "To ISIS-K: We are not done with you yet," Biden stated on Tuesday.
With no US military forces on the ground and no supportive government forces with which to exchange intelligence on terrorist networks, targeting Islamic State militants or other extremist groups such as al-Qaida will be more difficult. However, the Biden administration claims that by watching and potentially attacking with forces deployed elsewhere in the region, it can contain these groups.
Although the Taliban opposes ISIS, it's unclear whether they'll be willing to collaborate with the US military or the CIA now that they've retaken power in Kabul. Milley has recent experience dealing with Taliban leaders, having met with them twice last year, most recently in December, in an attempt to halt their attacks on the US-backed Afghan government, which collapsed in mid-August, prompting the frantic US-led evacuation.
Austin remained skeptical, as did Milley, about the likelihood that the recent collaboration at the Kabul airport signals a future relationship with the Taliban.
"I would not make any leaps of logic to broader issues," Austin remarked.
Austin and Milley both commanded troops in Afghanistan during the 20-year war, and their remarks at Wednesday's press conference mostly centered on tributes to those who served there, particularly those who died or were wounded. They also expressed gratitude to everyone who helped with the final airlift, which Austin described as the "largest civilian evacuation in American history."
While conceding that the memories of battle might be difficult, Milley and Austin pushed war veterans to see their service as worthy and cherished by the American population.
"It is difficult to fight in a war. It's a nasty beast. It's a bloodbath. It's harsh and unforgiving "Milley remarked. "Yes, we all experience pain and rage. When we consider what has happened in the last 20 years and the last 20 days, we are filled with sadness and indignation."
Biden is debating the possibility of a new relationship with the Taliban now that the US engagement in the war is finished and all American troops have left the country. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been tasked with coordinating with foreign allies to hold the Taliban to their pledge of safe passage for Americans and others who want to depart in the coming days.
The US relationship with the Taliban throughout the evacuation, according to Marine General Frank McKenzie, director of US Central Command, was "very pragmatic and very businesslike," with the Taliban helping to secure the airport. Other Afghan reports, on the other hand, claimed killings, bloodshed, and Taliban attempts to prevent desperate Afghans from passing through the gates.
In a speech to the country on Tuesday, Biden defended his choice to end America's longest war and pull all US troops out by August 31.
From the White House, Biden declared, "I was not going to extend this forever war," "And I was not going to extend a forever exit."
For his handling of the evacuation, Biden has received a lot of flak, especially from Republicans. But, no matter when it was planned and carried out, he said, the final departure from two decades of war, first arranged with the Taliban for May 1 by former President Donald Trump, would have been difficult, with anticipated carnage.
"To those asking for the third decade of war in Afghanistan, I ask, 'What is the vital national interest?'" Biden stated the following. "I simply do not believe that the safety and security of America are enhanced by continuing to deploy thousands of American troops and spending billions of dollars in Afghanistan," he added.
