CIA veteran warns Taliban could help al-Qaida rebuild its base in Afghanistan

Michael Morell, who served as acting Central Intelligence Agency director twice, during an online forum sponsored by the US Attorney's Office on Tuesday, speculated that the Taliban would invite al-Qaida to rebuild its base in Afghanistan. Morell, who briefed President George W Bush on September 11, believed that the Taliban will give a safe haven to al-Qaida in order to target the United States.

"There is no doubt in my mind. I believe that the Taliban will give safe haven to al-Qaida, and I believe it will be al-Qaida''s intention to again build its capability so that they can attack us here at home," said the CIA man during an online program organised to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

According to the CIA veteran, who briefed President Barack Obama on the intelligence that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden, counterterrorism efforts fall into a pattern in which their abilities could be easily degraded. However, he noted that al Qaida bounced back as soon as the focus shifted to other terror organisations. Citing the example of the year 2002 and 2003, he pointed out that when the US shifted its focus to Iraq, the terrorist group rebuilt their base and carried out several attacks including the 2004 Madrid attack and the London attack in 2005.

"When our focus got shifted to Iraq al-Qaida started bouncing back," Morell said during the event and added if al-Qaida established a safe haven in Afghanistan, it could be hard to develop the kind of tactical intelligence. He said the US will have to apply the lessons it learned over the last 20 years.

Foreign members of ISIL-K and al-Qaida entered Afghanistan via Pakistan

The CIA veteran admitted that the years after the deadly attacks were a controversial term for the intelligence agency when it ran secret jails and allowed questionings that many people say crossed the line into cruelty. Morell said that those are missions the CIA should never have accepted.

"Contrary to conventional wisdom, we were not experienced at interrogations. Interviewing somebody who is willing to tell you everything, you know, we're really good at that. But getting somebody to talk who doesn't want to talk to you, no experience in that whatsoever."

Earlier in August, the intelligence agency said almost all foreign members of ISIL-K and al-Qaida entered Afghanistan via Pakistan. Also, the agency discovered symbiotic ties between ISIL-K, Taliban and al-Qaida.

(With inputs from PTI)

(Image Credit: AP)