The war on jihadi terror is not over.
The American skedaddle debacle in Afghanistan was no glorious American achievement notwithstanding the Biden administration's efforts to portray it that way. But Biden will avoid confronting that reality until after the 2024 election:
The current Taliban regime has renewed its symbiotic relationship with the remnants of al-Qaeda. And though their global return may not be imminent, it must be remembered that the terrorist group is laying low by choice. Under this arrangement, al-Qaeda has agreed to stay under the radar, for now, in order to aid the Taliban’s international image of upholding their promise to prevent extremist organizations from using Afghanistan as a safe haven. Yet al-Qaeda views the Taliban-controlled country as precisely that—a base in which they can regrow and expand.
Those who lobby to recognize the Taliban make the case that they have changed and acknowledged their missteps. These individuals claim that security in Afghanistan has increased under the Taliban, seeming to forget or ignore the fact that the Taliban themselves were the biggest threat to civilian lives prior to seizing power. They argue the Taliban has stopped opium production, but appear oblivious to the fact that that’s due to the group’s diversification into methamphetamines. They insist that the Taliban is committed to rebuilding the nation and that engaging with the group will help to moderate them when it comes to issues like state-sanctioned misogyny and harboring terrorists. There is even a perception that al-Qaeda is unlikely to reconstitute in Afghanistan. But ground realities prove otherwise.
Terrorstan will be reborn. Because while jihadis look to a Golden Age during their caliphate early in Islam's history, September 11, 2001 was a modern Golden Age for them.
And over-the-horizon counter-terrorism won't impede al Qaeda from rebuilding their sanctuary with the help of the Taliban who are in no way a kinder and gentler Taliban 2.0.
Our lack of focus to protect the homeland won't turn out well for Americans. Because retreating is not the same as peace, even if we pretend for a while that they are the same. Without mowing the jihadi grass "over there", the battlefield will be "over here".
NOTE: The image was made from DALL-E.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: I'm adding updates on the Last Hamas War in this post.