WASHINGTON: The head of US intelligence agencies offered a pessimistic assessment Thursday of the security situation in Afghanistan, where the US government is planning to send more troops to combat resurgent extremists.
“The political and security situation in Afghanistan will also almost certainly deteriorate through 2018, even with a modest increase in the military assistance by the US and its partners,” Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said at a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“Afghanistan will struggle to curb its dependence on external support until it contains the insurgency or reaches a peace agreement with the Taliban,” Coats told lawmakers in presenting an annual assessment of threats to US national security.
US-led forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for almost 16 years, making it America’s longest war, yet the situation there remains a stalemate.
Gen. Vincent Stewart, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said if the situation was not addressed, the US-led alliance risked losing the fragile gains it had made during the protracted conflict.
“Unless we change something... the situation will continue to deteriorate and we’ll lose all the gains that we’ve invested in over the last several years,” he said.
That new beefing-up of efforts would include sending US and NATO advisers at brigade and battalion level to help Afghan commanders coordinate troop movements with artillery, intelligence or close air support, he said.
The Taliban, which first emerged in the mid-1990s in southern Afghanistan, managed to conquer most of the country before its 2001 ouster, with the help of a range of foreign jihadists, including Pakistanis, Saudis and Chechens.
But it has been on the rebound, Coates said, and continues to gain strength.
“The Taliban is likely to continue to make gains, especially in rural areas,” said the US spy chief, adding that efforts to bolster local military have been less fruitful than hoped.
“Afghan security forces’ performance will probably worsen due to a combination of Taliban operations, combat casualties, desertions, poor logistics support, weak leadership,” he said.
“Afghanistan will struggle to curb its dependence on external support until it contains the insurgency or reaches a peace agreement with the Taliban.”
America has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. Most belong to a 13,300-strong NATO mission to train and advise Afghan partner forces fighting the Taliban.
Last month, the US dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed in combat in Afghanistan, targeting an Daesh group complex.
Security in Afghanistan likely to ‘deteriorate’: US
Security in Afghanistan likely to ‘deteriorate’: US
FBI foils Daesh-inspired New Year’s Eve attack plot
- Christian Sturdivant,18, charged with attempting to provide material support to foreign terrorist organization
- Investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee
CHARLOTTE, United States: The FBI said Friday it disrupted a New Year’s Eve attack plot targeting a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old man who authorities say pledged loyalty to the Daesh group.
Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization after investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant.
Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody after a federal court appearance Friday. An attorney representing him Friday did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.
The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a US citizen and Army veteran who had proclaimed his support for Daesh on social media.
The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice and equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.
Searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for an attack with knives and a hammer, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle said at a news conference Friday.
“He was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.
US Attorney for western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said the planned attack in Mint Hill, a bedroom community near Charlotte, targeted “places that we go every day and don’t think that we may be harmed.”
Worried he might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed Sturdivant under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, Ferguson said. Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, he said. “At no point was the public in harm’s way.”
The fact that Sturdivant encountered two undercover officers while allegedly planning the attack should reassure the public, Ferguson said. He declined to identify the grocery store and restaurant cited in the complaint, citing the ongoing investigation.
If convicted, Sturdivant faces up to 20 years in prison, according to court documents.
An FBI affidavit says the investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of Daesh, including imagery that appeared to promote violence. The account’s display name referenced Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the extremist group.
Some experts argue that Daesh is powerful today partly as a brand, inspiring both militant groups and individuals in attacks that the group itself may have no real role in.
The affidavit says Sturdivant had been on the FBI’s radar in January 2022, when he was a minor, after officials learned that he had been in contact with a person in Europe the FBI says was an Daesh member, and had received instructions to dress in black, knock on people’s doors and commit attacks with a hammer.
At that time, Sturdivant did actually set out for a neighbor’s house armed with a hammer and a knife but was restrained by his grandfather, the affidavit says.
The FBI in Los Angeles last month announced the disruption of a separate New Year’s Eve plot, arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group who federal officials said planned to bomb multiple sites in southern California.
Other Daesh-inspired attacks over the past decade include a 2015 shooting rampage by a husband-and-wife team who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who fatally shot 49 people.
