Al Qaeda ‘gaining strength’ in Afghanistan, U.S. Treasury says

[Valin]

Long War Journal

Thomas Joscelyn

January 25, 2021

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department posted a written update on its work to combat illicit terrorism financing. The summary was submitted in response to inquiries from the Department of Defense’s Lead Inspector General. Written in a question and answer format, the Jan. 4 memo provides a window into how Treasury’s counterterrorism officials currently view al Qaeda and the Islamic State’s competing networks. Much of the document cannot be independently corroborated, as the source information has not been made public.

Al Qaeda “gaining strength” under Taliban’s “protection”

The Trump administration sold its Feb. 29, 2020, agreement with the Taliban as a victory for America’s counterterrorism efforts. Despite supposed assurances that the Taliban would break with al Qaeda, however, the Treasury Department’s analysts find that the two remain closely allied.

As of 2020, according to the report, al Qaeda was “gaining strength in Afghanistan while continuing to operate with the Taliban under the Taliban’s protection.” Al Qaeda “capitalizes on its relationship with the Taliban through its network of mentors and advisers who are embedded with the Taliban, providing advice, guidance, and financial support.”

To date, there is no publicly available evidence showing that the Taliban has taken steps to uproot al Qaeda’s network inside Afghanistan. The Taliban continues to lie about al Qaeda as well, falsely claiming that the group isn’t even present inside the country.

(Snip)