West has allowed men of terror to return, says Petraeus

Afghanistan is in a ‘disastrous’ situation after the Taliban allowed al-Qa’ida to return and Islamic State is ‘very dangerous’, according to a former US commander.

Retired US general David Petraeus inspects the Roll of Honour during a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra in 2019. Picture: AAP

Afghanistan is in a “disastrous” situation after the Taliban allowed al-Qa’ida to return and Islamic State is “very dangerous”, according to a former US commander in the country.

Retired general David Petraeus said that in the year since Western forces left its society had gone more than a thousand years backwards in some respects, with the new regime imposing an “ultra-conservative” vision of Islam.

In an interview with Times Radio, he also said that the West had left behind hundreds of thousands of people whose security was jeopardised because of their service in the Afghan government or work alongside Western troops.

“I think it is still a tragic, heartbreaking and, frankly, disastrous situation,” he said. “Clearly the Taliban have allowed al-Qa’ida to return. The Islamic State appears very dangerous. The economy has collapsed, many of the people are literally starving, and the Taliban regime has imposed an ultra-conservative vision of Islam, that takes the country back to the 8th or 9th century of practice, and in which women have very little opportunity to contribute to the economy, the business world, even to society.”

Mr Petraeus, 69, who spent 37 years in the US Army, said the vast majority of the coalition forces who were carrying out training and assistance in the country until last northern summer had wanted to stay.

He said carrying out strikes on individuals like Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qa’ida who was killed in Kabul this month, required a lot of resources. Zawahiri was struck by a Hellfire missile from a drone 350m from the former UK embassy.

A still file image from a video released by Al-Qa’ida media in 2011 shows Ayman al-Zawahiri as he gives a eulogy for slain leader Osama bin Laden. Picture: AFP

He was previously in Helmand province but moved to Kabul after the Taliban took over a year ago. Intelligence chiefs had previously warned that withdrawing from the country could weaken the ability of the UK and US to gain an accurate picture of terrorist activity on the ground.

British security agencies have long been concerned that with NATO troops out of Afghanistan, the Taliban could turn a blind eye to the regrowth of al-Qa’ida or a surge in extremists who could exploit a security vacuum.

Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a drone-fired Hellfire Ninja R9X missile that uses pop-out swords. The munition is said to have gone through the window, above. Picture: Twitter @DfIlite

Ken McCallum, director-general of MI5, said last year that there was a risk of another 9/11-style attack. He said there was “no doubt” that events in the country would “hearten” extremists.

Mr McCallum said that in addition to giving a “morale boost” to potential terrorists in Britain or elsewhere, there was also a concern that terrorists would be able to regroup and plan sophisticated al-Qa’ida-style directed plots.

The Times