What game are the US and Taliban playing?
Author: Abdul Naser Noorzad, security and geopolitics researcher.
In the latest self-made report, the United Nations has apparently reported that al-Qaeda has infiltrated into the Taliban regime institutions with the support of high-ranking Taliban officials. The army that the US is trying to support as its proxy soldier in the region and give it an official face, today hosts Al-Qaeda.
Up to this point, it seems a strange issue, how can the paradox of the existence of Al-Qaeda as the enemy of the US and the Taliban as their future friend, which has been supported by it for many years, be included in the same container? Hadn't the Taliban promised the US to cut ties with al-Qaeda so that they could return to power?
Now it has been reported that al-Qaeda exists in Afghanistan, but it operates secretly. That is, it has become clear that the Taliban regime is hosting Al-Qaeda, but it deserves support and recognition, because it is becoming US's friend in order to implement America's big plans in the region. What are clear is the close, ideological connection, operational solidarity and friendly commitment between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, all of which have put the narrative of violence and disgust at the top of their work and activities.
Terrorism in Afghanistan has its roots in fourteen decades. Right from the time when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and provided America and England with the opportunity to use the tools of religious and religious extremism. From that time until now, Pakistan has been Afghanistan's cash cow, due to tools such as modern terrorism and radical ideas of extreme war-seeking groups that serve the interests of Britain and America, and their nature is actually the basis of protecting the strategic interests of these two countries in the region. It has been used and benefited a lot.
For many years, since the emergence of Pakistan, England and America have chosen this country, especially in its northern regions, as a suitable place to promote extremist ideas. Terrorism has come to life in the region thanks to the political and especially its security system. It is an informational dilemma to publish such content that misleads the public mind. Anyway, let's go back to the main issue, which is the report of the United Nations Security Council. The report added that in most cases, Al-Qaeda operates secretly in this country to promote the narrative of the Taliban that Afghan soil is not used for terrorist purposes.
There is reliable information that al-Qaeda uses terrorist training camps in Kunar and Nuristan, which used to serve the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, to help and organize its new cells and other terrorist groups. This work has caused the growing trend of extremism to continue away from the public eye, and on the other hand, to remain safe from possible targeting.
Al-Qaeda uses this method by using the experience of several decades of presence in the conflict fields in order to remain safe from the targeting and reaction of the neighboring countries and the region quickly and with peace of mind. Meanwhile, the supporting role of the Taliban should not be forgotten. Al-Qaeda members, with the support of high-ranking Taliban officials, have infiltrated throughout the country with the aim of ensuring the security of their cores. This penetration is aimed at strengthening the foundations of state terrorism, which targets the entire region, and there is a possibility that its waves will spread throughout the Asian continent, especially South and Central Asia. For this purpose, al-Qaeda with a strategic goal is trying to institutionalize its bases in Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban in order to achieve its trans-Afghan goals.
The Taliban also use the advisory assistance of the leaders of the main cores of Al-Qaeda and benefit from their advice, and to further monitor this work, a number of members of the Al-Qaeda network work as key managers in the Taliban administration. Among the important members of al-Qaeda who are also members of the Taliban group, one can mention the deputy of the Taliban intelligence department, the education director of the Ministry of Defense, the governor of Kapisa and Nooristan in the Taliban administration. These members of Taliban and Al-Qaeda have been in the service of propagating the terrorist ideas of this organization and use their official positions for the benefit of the organizational goals of this group.
Therefore, it cannot be denied that al-Qaeda uses Afghanistan as an ideological and logistical center to mobilize and recruit new fighters. That is, the new plan of al-Qaeda in the region is to transform Afghanistan into a center of Suq al-Jishi to promote terrorism, which will pursue strategic plans in the future.
It is also stated in the report of the United Nations Security Council that al-Qaeda is currently in the process of reorganizing and establishing new training centers in Kunar and Nuristan, which currently does not have the ability to carry out large-scale terrorist attacks. The title of the organizational goal of this network has been preserved. Maintaining the operational capability of this network is a warning bell for the entire region and the fact that this network has chosen Afghanistan as its command center, conveys the message that a plan has been set for the future of South and Central Asia. Accordingly, it is believed that al-Qaeda is likely to remain inactive in the short term while developing its operational capability.
Therefore, Al-Qaeda has tried to interact with militant groups in Central Asian countries such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Jamaat-e- Ansarullah. In this regard, it is estimated that between 300 and 1200 fighters of the Islamic Movement of East Turkestan are present in Afghanistan. This movement will become one of the reliable cores of the Al-Qaeda network with many human resources.
Because the relations between the Taliban and the members of this movement have turned to darkness after the written commitment of the Taliban to the Chinese authorities to impose restrictions on the members of this movement. Al-Qaeda can play a fundamental and key role as a support structure to serve the strategic interests of this group and to challenge the security of the region. On the other hand, al-Qaeda is trying to achieve the stages of providing strategic structures and establishing a single command center throughout the region of Afghanistan. The possibility of access to the required weapons in Afghanistan allows this organization to take basic steps with huge financial investment financed from various sources. Also, Al-Qaeda has been able to actively expand the scope of its operations in Afghanistan and has deployed operational bases and weapons in Baghlan province.
Along with Al-Qaeda's efforts to converge and unite ideologically with the Islamic movement of East Turkestan, the efforts of this network to create communication bridges between Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan are also important. According to the documents and evidence based on the report of the United Nations Security Council, Al-Qaeda members are cooperating with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to carry out more attacks inside Pakistan. Al-Qaeda uses East Turkestan Islamic Movement's training camps in Kunar Province to train Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan fighters.
According to the available reports, with the aim of expanding its activities in the Indian subcontinent, Al-Qaeda wants to expand its operations in the neighboring countries of Bangladesh, Jammu and Kashmir under the control of India and Myanmar as well. That is, the strategic goal of al-Qaeda is not only focused on Afghanistan as the center of command, but this network wants to prove its influence and presence by creating wide areas of operation. The UN report estimated that 300 al-Qaeda fighters with their families, which number up to 2,000 people, are active in Afghanistan.
The Security Council has written regarding the activities of ISIS in Afghanistan that this group has targeted the high-ranking people of the Taliban in its attacks against the Taliban and international targets. According to this assessment, attacks against high-ranking officials of the Taliban in Balkh, Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces have increased the morale of ISIS and caused the group to attract more forces.
In this regard, the complex information dilemma includes not only the Taliban, but also other terrorist groups. As a platform for this game, the Taliban play a key role in this program. For this purpose, America continues to provide financial, advisory; arms and technology support to this group so that it remains in power and is the basis for the expansion of large terrorist organizations in the region. Other terrorist organizations, under the umbrella of ISIS and al-Qaeda, which have a common intellectual existence, are trying to use this platform for maximum use to expand their operational areas, and for many years, the roots of extremism and extremism in historical and cultural contexts.
