Appearing Monday on the Fox News Channel’s The Story, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker rejected President Joe Biden’s disputed claim that Al Qaeda is no longer operational in Afghanistan, stating the Islamic terror group “is not gone and they will come back.”
A transcript is as follows:
MARTHA MACCALLUM: What do you say about the president saying that Al Qaeda is gone and what kind of threat do you believe Al Qaeda possess at this point?
AMB. RYAN CROCKER: Al Qaeda is not gone and they will be back. The Taliban chose two decades in exile, rather than to hand over Al Qaeda, which is a demand we made to them after 9/11. “You give us Al Qaeda and we won’t bother you.” Well, they chose to protect Al Qaeda. The Taliban is back and Al Qaeda is going to be back right with them. This is a huge danger to our security.