Taliban takeover in Afghanistan prompts US fears of a resurgent al-Qaeda, 20 years after 9/11
- Taliban’s return to power a seen as a galvanising event for jihadists everywhere
- This year marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the US
With the rapid withdrawal of US forces and rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, “I think al-Qaeda has an opportunity, and they’re going to take advantage of that opportunity,” says Chris Costa, who was senior director for counterterrorism in the Trump administration.
“This is a galvanising event for jihadists everywhere.”
Al-Qaeda’s ranks have been significantly diminished by 20 years of war in Afghanistan, and it’s far from clear that the group has the capacity in the near future to carry out catastrophic attacks on America such as the September 11 strikes, especially given how the US has fortified itself in the past two decades with surveillance and other protective measures.
But a June report from the UN Security Council said the group’s senior leadership remains present inside Afghanistan, along with hundreds of armed operatives. It noted that the Taliban, who sheltered al-Qaeda fighters before the September 11 attacks, “remain close, based on friendship, a history of shared struggle, ideological sympathy and intermarriage”.
