Afghanistan
Obviously Afghanistan has been the primary focal point in the War on Terror since September 11, 2001 when the United States was attacked and about 3,000 people were murdered. The US government identified Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda organization based in and allied with the Taliban, the Islamic government in Afghanistan, as the perpetrators of the attacks. While political and military mistakes have been made in this 10 year conflict, we have been successful and destroying the violent Al-Qaeda and Taliban leadership and allowing a government friendly to its neighbors to hopefully evolve. This evolution will take time and be difficult, so our commitment should not waver, but our need for regular military forces in Afghanistan has ended. Continuing to watch and appropriately react to developments in Afghanistan will be an important political issue.
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Yes!

8/2/22
from The Gray Area:
7/27/22:

Congratulations to our military for taking out this animal! What now? A response for sure. According to the Washington Post, security experts say the operation demonstrates that the United States is still able to carry out precision strikes in Afghanistan after last year’s troop withdrawal. On the other hand, it also highlights the Taliban’s apparent willingness to accommodate al-Qaeda operatives in the region. Charles Lister, a terrorism expert at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said al-Qaeda “now faces an acute succession crisis.” Senior leader Saif al-Adel is technically the next in line to take the helm, but he is based in Iran, which has caused affiliates to question his credibility in the past, Lister wrote Monday. His potential ascension could be the “death knell” for al-Qaeda’s aspirations as a global organization as affiliates deepen their independence from the group, Lister said. Al-Qaeda hasn’t carried out any major terrorist attacks in the United States or Europe in recent years, following bombings that killed 52 people in London in 2005. Some attackers were inspired by al-Qaeda, such as a Saudi military trainee who killed three American sailors at a U.S. base in Florida in December 2019. A knife-wielding assailant who fatally stabbed a man and a woman in an attack near London Bridge that same year had previously been a member of an al-Qaeda-inspired cell. Yet, the Biden Administration has allowed the Taliban, al Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist groups to reform and get stronger. In addition, they have sent messages around the world that America is weak again. So, Russia invades Ukraine, China threatens Taiwan, Iran readies its nukes, North Korea tests missiles, and the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is heating up again. It is only reasonable to assume in such an environment that a significant response will come from al Qaeda and/or others in the coming weeks and months. I hope I'm wrong. But to be safe: - All military be on alert. - All American interests around the world, be on alert. - NYC, especially on the upcoming anniversary of 9-11, be on alert. - other US cities be on alert on 9-11. We cannot stop a response. Unfortunately, our weakness may make it worse than it should be.

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