CNN’s Ward: Taliban ‘Collaborating’ with al-Qaeda, Raises Question of How You Deal with Lesser-Known Terrorists

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward reported that an official told CNN that “senior Haqqani Taliban figures were not only aware of” al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul, but “even took steps in the aftermath of the strike to try to conceal the fact that he was there, to try to restrict access to the house where the strike took place, and also to relocate his family.” And this raises the question of “What happens when other individuals emerge potentially who are not perhaps as well-known to intelligence officials or who are not necessarily on the radar internationally in the same way?”

Ward stated, “[W]hat I think is still somewhat shocking about this, Anderson, is that when we were on the streets and talking to Taliban officials and talking to regular fighters as they took over the country, they were adamant that there was no way al-Qaeda or any international terrorist organization was going to be able to get a foothold again inside of Afghanistan, and they understood how high the stakes were for them because the whole notion of the Doha Agreements is predicated on this idea that Afghanistan couldn’t become a safe haven again. And yet here we are having this conversation in the wake of this momentous event.”

She continued, “One official telling CNN that they know that senior Haqqani Taliban figures were not only aware of his presence in this area — because this…area would be absolutely impossible for him to be living there without them being aware of it — but they also even took steps in the aftermath of the strike to try to conceal the fact that he was there, to try to restrict access to the house where the strike took place, and also to relocate his family. And so, you’re talking about the senior leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, of Taliban-held Afghanistan literally collaborating with al-Qaeda after promising that they would not do that. And what that does to an already very damaged and dysfunctional relationship between the Taliban and the U.S. and how much more difficult that makes it going forward for the U.S. — I mean, this is, Zawahiri, you’re talking about, a guy with a $25 million bounty on his head. What happens when other individuals emerge potentially who are not perhaps as well-known to intelligence officials or who are not necessarily on the radar internationally in the same way? How can you trust again in the Taliban’s word when they talk about a serious commitment to fighting, not only ISIS-K, which they are focused on, but other groups like al-Qaeda in the region.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett