WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): Afghanistan is in danger of turning into a sanctuary once again for Islamist extremists as the West withdraws troops and shifts its attention elsewhere, a former senior CIA official warned Tuesday, US media reports.
Robert Grenier, the former Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Islamabad and author of a new book warned that the country could even become a refuge for Islamic State jihadis now waging war in Syria and Iraq.
His memoir, “88 Days to Kandahar,” recounts his harrowing experience helping to topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I would say if anything the future threat of an Afghan safe haven is maybe even greater than it was back before 9/11,” Grenier said at an event organized by the New America think tank.
The Afghan Taliban would not be ready to rebuff its allies in the Pakistani Taliban or other extremists — such as the Islamic State group — if they asked for sanctuary, he said.
“There are groups within Pakistan that are dedicated to attacking the regime in Islamabad. They’re not going to go away,” he said.
According to Grenier, the Taliban tend to see things in black-and-white terms, looking at decisions through the question: “Is it dictated by Islam or is it not?”
“And they won’t turn their back on people who are ideologically allied with them across the border.
“Nor do I believe will they turn their backs on international terrorists, if once again they come back to the region in any significant numbers, as I fear they will if their fortunes take a bad turn,” he said.
With a small U.S.-led force due to withdraw in two years, Grenier said he fears that the United States and other Western governments will fail to funnel financial aid to Kabul after their soldiers leave and abandon the Afghan government.
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