Top general: 'It's possible' US could coordinate with Taliban on ISIS-K
Source: The Hill
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley on Wednesday said “it’s possible” the U.S. military could coordinate with the Taliban on any future counterterrorism operations against ISIS-K in Afghanistan.
U.S. commanders communicated daily with the Taliban last month to facilitate the evacuation of thousands of people from the Kabul airport as the United States ended its 20-year conflict in the country. The two sides also reportedly had a secret agreement to have Americans escorted to the airfield.
“We don’t know what the future of the Taliban is, but I can tell you from personal experience that this is a ruthless group, from the past, and whether or not they change remains to be seen,” Milley told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday. “As far as our dealings with them at that airfield or in the past year or so, in war, you do what you must in order to reduce risk to mission and force, not what you necessarily want to do.”
Pressed on any possibility of coordination with the Taliban against ISIS-K, Milley replied: “It’s possible.”
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/570421-top-general-its-possible-us-could-coordinate-with-taliban-on-isis-k
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who spoke alongside Milley, said U.S. commanders worked with the Taliban “on a very narrow set of issues” to get as many people evacuated as possible.
“I would not make any leaps of logic to broader issues.” Austin said. “It’s hard to predict where this will go in the future with respect to the Taliban.”
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