(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) On the first anniversary of President Joe Biden’s disastrous and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban celebrated near the U.S. embassy in Kabul waving white banners and photos of the founder of al-Qaeda.
According to The Daily Wire, the Haqqani terrorist network had a close relationship with Osama bin Ladin, who organized, trained and worked with Afghan Mujahideen to organize and protect the network.
Reports indicated that the network aided in al-Qaeda’s escape during the U.S. battle at Tora Bora. Government spokesman Bilal Karlimi released a statement, celebrating the occasion.
“It’s the day of victory and happiness for the Afghan Muslims and people. It is the day of conquest and victory of the white flag,” he said.
The Haqqani network is known as the “primary liaison between the Taliban and Al-Qaida,” and leader Sirajuddin Haqqani acted as Afghanistan’s acting interior minister, and was “assessed to be a member of the wider Al-Qaida leadership, but not of the Al-Qaida core leadership.”
When asked if U.S. intelligence should have seen the rapid takeover by the Taliban prior to the withdrawal of American troops ordered by Biden, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges said:
“I’m reluctant to point the blame at any of our intelligence services, and I have to say, it was not just U.S. intelligence that was here; we had intelligence networks working together from multiple countries. Some of the best intelligence agencies in the world; we got this wrong.”
“It was less about the Taliban; it was more about we failed to fully appreciate the lack of willingness for Afghan people to defend themselves for their own government,” he asserted.
He also stated that Pakistan was never an ally, as anticipated.
‘The final mistake was that Pakistan was never an ally. We, the US, tried to convince ourselves that Pakistan was an ally…and we paid the price.’
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges speaks to Tom Harwood on the one-year anniversary of the Taliban seizing control back of Kabul. pic.twitter.com/i38YXxZGas
— GB News (@GBNEWS) August 15, 2022
