A joint US-Afghanistan offensive against ISIS forces in Nangarhar is just about to wrap up. The Afghan government is optimistic. The US, however, is increasingly skeptical about its ability to defeat the ISIS affiliate there.
Gen. John Nicholson, the US commander in Afghanistan, says that the ISIS affiliate is increasingly resilient, with access to foreign fighters. On top of that, Nicholson warned, ISIS is getting funding and other general support from jihadist groups in several nearby countries.
This is the first time officials are addressing this issue. Afghan officials have declared the ISIS presence in Nangarhar to have been “wiped out” several times following offensives in recent years, and when that offensive wraps up, ISIS reemerges there, seemingly as strong as ever.
Before, officials just ignored the past, and were every bit as confident about their newest offensive. Gen. Nicholson’s comments show that there is at least some recognition that these offensives, while killing a lot of people, aren’t amounting to much.
Wow! after 17 years the light bulb goes on.
ISIS did not exist when the US invaded Afghanistan. It was created by this war, and is sustained by this war. It is not merely resilient, it is blow back.
We went there to get al Qaeda. We now support al Qaeda against Russia, Iran, and Assad in Syria, even as we fight it elsewhere. And it no longer is even in Afghanistan.
We complained that the Taliban protected al Qaeda. Does that matter now that al Qaeda is gone? No. We are a decade and more on into new new issues.
There is no reason for the US to be fighting this war.