Former top US general sceptical of Afghan Taliban over links with al-Qaeda

Former United States Central Command Marine Corps General (retd) Frank McKenzie while expressing his scepticism has said that the Afghan Taliban cannot be trusted over their links with al-Qaeda.

General (retd) McKenzie who led the US withdrawal from Afghanistan has said that the Afghan Taliban maintain close links with the al-Qaeda.

The Afghan Taliban have a "long-term familial and customary relationship" with al-Qaeda, McKenzie said.

His remarks came during an interview with CBS News on September 10 — a day before the anniversary of the 9/11 attack that shocked the world and launched one of the biggest US off-shore campaigns in the form of "War on Terror".

During the interview, the retired commander said that one of the reasons that the US was in Afghanistan was "to prevent the use of that country as a base from which to gather strength and either to direct or inspire attacks on our homelands, or the homelands of our allies."

He further said: "As a result of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is now far more difficult for us to pursue those objectives."

Since his retirement, McKenzie has made no secret of the fact that he opposed both President Biden and President Trump's decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.

He had also advised that 25,000 US troops be left behind in Afghanistan to ensure US presence in the region. US President Biden, however, denied receiving any such advice.

Commenting on the attack on Kabul airport on August 26, 2021, that killed 13 US soldiers and over 150 Afghan civilians as the Americans worked to withdraw from the country, the former US Central Command head said, "There were a lot of threats being worked all the time".

"As the days wound up to the 26th of August ... we were looking at four significant threats. We were looking at a vehicle-borne IED attack, a car with a bomb in it ... we were looking at a suicide vest attack of the type that actually occurred on the 26th [and] we were looking at indirect fire rockets or mortars directed against the airfield," the general added.

"And then we were looking at the possibility of an insider attack, somebody who got past our checkpoints and — with a bomb and was able to set it off either in the crowded terminal area or an aeroplane," Mckinzie said.

Although McKenzie had admitted that the "strike was a tragic mistake", the Pentagon decided in December 2021 that no military personnel would be punished for the attack.