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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was questioned at a press briefing Monday on whether President Biden understood the “full picture” of the potential terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan now that the Taliban has taken control of the country.
Biden, who has repeatedly defended his withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, told the White House on Friday that al-Qaeda had “left” the country, adding: “We went to Afghanistan for the express purpose of us. get rid of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan as well as having Osama bin Laden, and we did. “
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken subsequently appeared to contradict Biden, telling Fox News on Sunday that there were still “remnants” of the terrorist group in Afghanistan but that its “capacity had been very successfully reduced.”
During a White House press briefing on Monday afternoon, Fox News’ Peter Doocy pointed to the apparent discrepancy, asking Sullivan whether officials were “giving the president the full picture” or if he was “just applying poorly. information ”when he made his comments.
“The president was referring to the ability of Al Qaeda to attack the United States, which the intelligence community tells us today is not present in Afghanistan,” replied Sullivan. “What is present in Afghanistan right now… is a serious threat from IS-K, which we are trying to deal with. And of course, there is the possibility that Al-Qaeda could reconstitute an external conspiracy capability by Afghanistan. “
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Sullivan continued: “This is why you have heard the President repeatedly speak of the need for a capability on the horizon that will allow the United States, in collaboration with partners, to continue to suppress the terrorist threat by Afghanistan from Al Qaeda or ISIS -K or whoever, just as we work to quell the terrorist threat from Al Qaeda and ISIS in Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Islamic Maghreb, in many other countries, ”he said, referring to ISIS’s Khorasan province. .
“And let me close by saying that the president has been clear that from his point of view, America’s counterterrorism capabilities have evolved to the point where we can suppress this terrorist threat without keeping thousands or tens of thousands. soldiers on the ground in a country, ”he added. “We have proven it in other countries and that is exactly what we intend to do in Afghanistan.”
In the past, Biden has identified Syria and East Africa as areas where Islamic terrorists pose a greater threat to Americans on American soil than in Afghanistan, and yet the United States has not a significant military presence in these areas.
The president met with his national security team over the weekend to discuss counterterrorism efforts and the security situation in Afghanistan as the U.S. military continues to evacuate thousands from the airport in Kabul.
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Sullivan has previously said the terrorist threat people face at the airport by gathering in large groups is “real”.
“The threat is real. It’s acute. It’s persistent. And that’s something we’re focusing on with all the tools in our arsenal,” he told CNN on Sunday.
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