Al-Qaeda’s general command (or senior leadership) has released a three–page statement praising the Taliban’s “great victory” over America and its allies in Afghanistan. This triumph was enshrined in the Feb. 29 withdrawal accord signed in Doha, according to the jihadists.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claims the Taliban agreed to “break” with al-Qaeda, while helping the U.S. to “destroy” Ayman al-Zawahiri’s organization in Afghanistan. The text of the written agreement doesn’t not call for that. Instead, the Taliban has supposedly agreed to prevent al-Qaeda and others from using Afghan soil to plot attacks against the U.S. and its allies — a promise the group has long made, but failed to keep. The Taliban’s political delegation also agreed to three provisions stipulating that the group would prevent terrorists who threaten the U.S. from operating inside Afghanistan. But the terms of those same provisions are vague, while no verification or enforcement mechanisms are set forth in the text released late last month.
Al-Qaeda’s new statement doesn’t indicate that a real break is forthcoming.
Read more at The Long War Journal
