US military will have to re-engage in Afghanistan conflict – Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

Washington/Kabul: Former US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned that the US military will have to be in Afghanistan to fight the IS and Al Qaeda. Panetta also warned that the United States could withdraw from the war in Afghanistan but could not escape the war on terror. During Panetta’s tenure as Secretary of Defense in the Obama administration, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by the US military in Pakistan.

In an interview with CNN, Panetta said the bombing at Kabul airport was the worst and most challenging incident for the Biden administration. ‘The US military will have to go back to Afghanistan to defeat IS. There are indications that al Qaeda is also reactivating under the current Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Earlier, the Taliban had given a safe haven to Al Qaeda and this time, it will be repeated. So the US military will have to return to Afghanistan to fight al Qaeda’, Panetta warned.

‘The US wanted to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan, that we can understand. The US military may withdraw from the war in Afghanistan. But while the threat to America’s security remains, we cannot escape the war on terror, and that is the reality, the former Defence Secretary pointed out. This time, he expressed his displeasure over the Biden administration’s haste in withdrawing the forces. ‘The decision to withdraw troops in a hurry has left thousands of American troops in a perilous and difficult position in a small part of the enemy’s territory,’ Panetta slammed President Biden.

‘No matter how much the current Taliban regime in Afghanistan claims peace, they are terrorists and supporters of terrorists. Taliban had set up checkpoints for terrorists’, alleged Panetta, a former CIA chief.

The United States has a lot of information about the terrorist group IS-K, which carried out the bombing at Kabul airport on Thursday. Panetta claimed that the United States could launch an operation against them. The former Defence Secretary hoped that the United States would continue its fight against terrorism.