Retired Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster said this week “this is what happens when you surrender to a terrorist organization” in response to President Joe Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and the deadly terrorist attack in Kabul that resulted in the deaths of 10 Marines, two soldiers, and one Navy Corpsman.
During an appearance on MSNBC Thursday, the former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump also called the explosions outside of the Kabul airport “predictable.”
“This was predicted and predictable that this was going to occur,” Gen. McMaster said. “This is what happens when you surrender to a terrorist organization like the Taliban.”
“And I think what’s important to recognize is that this is just the beginning. We now have jihadist terrorists in control of the state. And that is a win not only for the Taliban as narrowly defined, but also to al Qaeda, to ISIS-K, and other jihadist terrorist organizations. We try to hard…to disconnect the dots. These groups share people, resources, and expertise,” he continued.
McMaster said it is “ridiculous” to believe that the Taliban are disappointed by the ISIS-K attack, and said he anticipates evidence will reveal the bombings occurred “with the full knowledge of…certain elements of the Taliban, if not the most senior leadership.” He said the terrorist organizations are not “the ISIS of Syria and Iraq,” but noted some of them are because many prisoners have now been released and will be a “boon to jihadist terrorism broadly.”
“We don’t have the will to really do what’s necessary to get all U.S. citizens out, as well as the Afghans who are clamoring for evacuation because they know that they have just been thrust into hell,” McMaster asserted.
“This is just the beginning of a much more severe threat to all civilized peoples. We have now handed the Taliban a nation-state, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” he continued. “That is a victory for them. It is a victory for al Qaeda. It’s a victory for ISIS and other jihadist terrorists.”
When asked if Pakistan is also behind the attacks, McMaster responded, “Absolutely.”
“This is part of our delusion in Afghanistan. Our serial gullibility. Pakistan acts as the arsonist and then poses as the fireman. I think they have to pay the price for this now. They should suffer economic and diplomatic isolation to force them to make a choice,” he said. “To force them to choose as either being treated as a responsible nation or continuing to be the major state sponsor of terrorist organizations.”
