The Islamic State in Afghanistan could be able to launch attacks on the West and its allies within as soon as six months, and al Qaeda could do so within two years, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The testimony by Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, before the Senate Armed Services Committee, diverged from an earlier Biden administration view<\/a> that al Qaeda had been \u201cdegraded\u201d in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n Mr. Kahl said the U.S. is fairly certain that both terror groups \u201chave the intention to\u201d launch such attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could see ISIS-K generate that capability in somewhere between six or 12 months, according to current assessments\u201d by the intelligence community, Mr. Kahl said, using an acronym referring to Islamic State\u2019s branch in Afghanistan. \u201cAnd for al Qaeda, it would take a year or two to reconstitute that capability. We have to remain vigilant against that possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Kahl\u2019s testimony offered a more detailed assessment of militant capabilities than was provided by Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told the same committee on Sept. 28<\/a> that terror groups generally could pose a threat between six and 36 months.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Islamic State in Afghanistan could be able to launch attacks on the West and its allies within as soon as six months, and al Qaeda could do so within two years, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers on Tuesday https:\/\/t.co\/ZV03AOc3t4<\/a><\/p>\n — The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 26, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n