NSA Sullivan: ‘I Reject’ Characterization al Qaeda in Afghanistan Is a Threat

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he did not believe that al Qaeda in Afghanistan represented a threat to the United States homeland even though al Qaeda planned the September 11 terror attacks in Afghanistan.

Guest anchor Brianna Keilar said, “I do want to listen to something the president said on Friday that’s gotten a lot of attention. Let’s hear that.”

In a video, President Joe Biden said, “We know no circumstance where American citizens are carrying an American passport are trying to get through to the airport. To the best of our knowledge, the Taliban checkpoints, they are letting through people showing American passports.”

Keilar said, “All right, so, we know that’s not true. We know there are many instances where that has not been true. The Pentagon has acknowledged that as well. We also — you know, he said that al Qaeda is gone from Afghanistan but, of course, from the U.N. joint chiefs, we know that is also untrue. Why is he misleading with his words here?”

Sullivan said, “First of all, I reject that characterization with respect to al Qaeda. Right now, our intelligence community does not believe that al Qaeda in Afghanistan represents a threat to the United States homeland. That’s what the president was referring to. He has also clearly said over time that al Qaeda could, in the future, represent a threat to the U.S. Homeland, and that is why he has positioned an over-the-horizon capability with intelligence assets and defense assets to ensure that never happens. And he has pointed out that we have been able to deal with and suppress terrorist threats in other countries that do have attack capabilities against America without a permanent military presence on the ground. We intend to do the same thing when it comes to Afghanistan.”

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