Who Knew? Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin: Al-Qaeda? Yeah, They'll Probably Be Back, Too

(AP Photo/Mazhar Ali Khan, File)

Wait — now al-Qaeda 2.0? Nah. No way. Way.

The guy in the above image might be dead — compliments of SEAL Team Six — but the Islamist extremist terrorist organization he founded, along with a little help from his friends, including Abdullah Yusuf Azzam —also dead, compliments of a car bomb in Peshawar, Pakistan, eight years after 9/11 — is not only very much alive but is also very likely to return to Afghanistan to “build back better” — which Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin conceded on Thursday is most likely a coming attraction. Yeah, Joe —you did that.

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Moreover, if Taliban 2.0 is any indication of what al-Qaeda 2.0 might look like, there’s going to be hell to pay. Somewhere. By someone. Some day. Bank it. Not that a stronger, more organized, more emboldened al Qaeda 2.0 might be very much interested in exacting revenge for the death of its founder, or anything.

“The whole community is kind of watching to see what happens and whether or not al-Qaeda has the ability to regenerate in Afghanistan,” said Austin, on Wednesday, as reported by Breitbart.

Not to nitpick, Lloyd, but not exactly the whole community is “watching to see what happens.” Know why?

Because some of the community — the strong majority of the community — already knew exactly what would happen after Biden did what he did the way he did it. Your boss was repeatedly warned what might happen — maybe even by you — but he chose to ignore that advice. And here we are.

Austin continued:

The nature of al-Qaeda and (the Islamic State group) is they will always attempt to find space to grow and regenerate, whether it’s there, whether it’s in Somalia, or whether it’s in any other ungoverned space. I think that’s the nature of the organization.

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Yet, in tragicomedy fashion, Austin said the Taliban was “put on notice” about al-Qaeda.

We put the Taliban on notice that we expect them to not allow that to happen. referring to the possibility of al-Qaeda using Afghanistan as a staging base in the future.

Yeah, Lloyd, pretty sure they don’t care.

Here’s the thing. This wasn’t the first time Lloyd Austin publicly shared his concerns about a reconstituted al-Qaeda on a scale equal to or larger than the al-Qaeda of Osama bin Laden. A quick trip in the Wayback Machine — not all that far back — proves the point.

On June 17, 2021 — long before the Biden Afghanistan Tragedy™ began to unfold — Austin warned that al-Qaeda could regroup in Afghanistan within two years.

At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), asked Austin and Gen. Mark “Critical Race Theory” Milley whether they rated the likelihood of regeneration of al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group in Afghanistan as small, medium, or large.

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Austin went with “medium.”

I would assess it as “medium. I would also say, senator, that it would take possibly two years for them to develop that capability.

Even Milley agreed.

I think that if certain other things happen — if there was a collapse of the government or the dissolution of the Afghan security forces — that risk would obviously increase, but right now I would say “medium” and about two years or so.

Think about it.

If those two responses from those two guys — particularly given the ridiculous dog-and-pony show they’re now forced to perform on a near-daily basis — don’t underscore overall U.S. military fears about the dire consequences of a complete, unilateral, unconditional withdrawal from Afghanistan, what would it take?

Joe Biden not only dutifully delivered that complete, unilateral, unconditional withdrawal to the Taliban on a silver platter; he knowingly and purposely left untold numbers of American citizens stranded behind enemy lines, subject to the sick whims of the most brutal terrorist organization in the world.

Yeah, Joe — you did that. On purpose.

Here’s more Afghanistan news that was totally unpredictable in the aftermath of Biden’s debacle:

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Taliban Letting Big Group of Americans Leave Today but There Are Questions About Move

While You Are Worrying About Hostages and Terrorism the State Department Is Dealing With the Real Issue in Afghanistan

Biden ‘Hoping to Turn the Page’ on Afghanistan

Jen Psaki Gives Typical Psaki Answer When Asked if Biden Administration Will Recognize the Taliban

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