Afghanistans Terrorist Resurgence Al-Qaeda ISIS and Beyond

When U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the goal was simple: Remove the Taliban government that sheltered the plotters of the 9/11 attacks and destroy al-Qaeda. It has been 16 years that the United States has been at war, and Afghanistan is still a haven for terrorists who seek to attack and kill Americans. The U.S. military quickly toppled the Taliban government in 2001, and the Taliban/al-Qaeda forces fled to Pakistan where they regrouped and launched more attacks against our troops. Since then, the Taliban has waged insurgency in Afghanistan, destabilizing the country and creating perfect conditions for terrorists to exploit. The Taliban insurgency today is stronger than any other point since 2001. The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction said in January of 2017, 171 Afghan districts are controlled, influenced, or contested by the Taliban. As long as the Taliban is successful this means good news for al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda has a long history of loyalty to the Taliban, or Osama bin Laden swore allegiance to the Taliban's leader, Mullah Omar, even before 9/11. And when bin Laden was killed, Ayman al-Zawahiri renewed his oath that cemented ties between al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Wherever the Taliban has influenced, al-Qaeda is not behind. The Haqqani Network, which is directly linked to both al-Qaeda and the Taliban, is based in Pakistan. The Haqqani Network attacks inside Afghanistan have been directly traced back to Pakistan. In 2011, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate, "The Haqqani Network acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency." ISIS announced the establishment of an Afghan affiliate in January 2013 and has entrenched itself in the eastern part of the country. ISIS presence in Afghan further complicates the country's terrorist landscape.