June 08, 2021
The New York Times published a report on June 06, 2021 showing the struggle CIA is going through I order to find a new counterterrorism strategy in the wake of US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan. The report cited that the CIA is seeking ways to maintain it’s intelligence-gathering, war-fighting and counterterrorism operations in the country and there are “ever-growing risks” of a Taliban takeover.
Pakistan, being an immediate neighbor of Afghanistan, was especially discussed in the report because the CIA used a base in Pakistan to launch drone strikes against militants in the country’s western mountains for years, but was kicked out of the facility in 2011, when US relations with Pakistan tattered. The report hinted that discussions are ongoing over the use of Pakistan for more bases:
“In discussions between American and Pakistani officials, the Pakistanis have demanded a variety of restrictions in exchange for the use of a base in the country, and they have effectively required that they sign off on any targets that either the CIA or the military would want to hit inside Afghanistan, according to three Americans familiar with the discussions.”
However it must be kept in mind that William J. Burns, the CIA director, told US senators in April: “When the time comes for the US military to withdraw, the US government’s ability to collect and act on threats will diminish,” adding: “That is simply a fact.”
The CIA head visited Islamabad, Pakistan in recent weeks to meet with the chief of the Pakistani military and the head of the directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, but the visit wasn’t made public and there is no idea about the discussions that took place there.
The report also stated that “Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has had frequent calls with the Pakistani military chief about getting the country’s help for future US operations in Afghanistan.” So there might become a possibility that Pakistan assists the US in formulating a post-withdrawal counter terrorism strategy, but no official data is available in this regard yet.
© Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) and Afghan Studies Center (ASC), Islamabad.
