"US May Cooperate with Taliban to Counter IS... Discussions Underway with Allies"

Special forces members of the Islamic militant group Taliban entered Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on the 31st of last month (local time). The Taliban took control of Kabul Airport immediately after the withdrawal of U.S. troops was completed the day before.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The United States may cooperate with the Taliban to counter terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) within Afghanistan, according to reports from the U.S.

On the 5th (local time), CNN in the U.S. reported that with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, American counterterrorism operations have no choice but to rely on indirect resources such as unmanned drones and satellite imagery, mentioning the possibility of cooperation between the U.S. and the Taliban. In fact, many expect that intelligence gathering will be difficult since U.S. troops are no longer present in Afghanistan.

Previously, the U.S. military conducted a drone strike on a vehicle suspected to be linked to IS-K, resulting in the deaths of 10 civilians, including 8 children. Because of this, there is an analysis that accurate target identification has become more difficult as the U.S. withdrew its troops from Afghanistan.

Current and former U.S. officials explained that while the U.S. can continue flying surveillance drones over Afghan airspace, these drones must take off from Gulf countries, consuming about 60% of flight time just traveling to and from Afghanistan. This limitation is pointed out as a potential blind spot for U.S. intelligence agencies.

CNN cited two U.S. officials reporting that the U.S. government is internally discussing with its allies whether to establish diplomatic relations with the Taliban again.

However, there is also analysis that the situation is not easy. Former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN in an interview, "Al-Qaeda has been living in exile within the Taliban for 20 years," and "Many foreign fighters, whether from Al-Qaeda, IS, or the Taliban, will return to Afghanistan." He added, "They move back and forth between different organizations," and said, "I think it is foolish to believe that cooperation with the Taliban to fight IS-K is possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.