Army Bob: We’ll pay a price for leaving Afghanistan

by Robert M. Traxler

To the detractors of this column — once again, this is an opinion column. And it is my opinion that the cutting and running in Afghanistan, coupled with President Joe Biden’s long history of not supporting anti-terrorism actions (like the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, a terrorist who took responsibility for the murder of nearly 3,000 innocent Americans) will result in a revitalization of international terrorism.

I had the privilege of attending the United States Army’s Terrorism Counteraction Course and working in the field for years, so I have a bit of knowledge in this area.

The surrender in Afghanistan is seen as a victory for the ultimate supremacy of Islam over the infidels in the Christian world. The young jihadis in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Egypt (the nation the 9/11 murderers came from) and the rest of the Islamic world are emboldened; nothing succeeds like success, and radical Islam is seen as wildly successful.

The release of eight to ten thousand hard-core Islamists from prison in Afghanistan will see them returning to their home nations and being the sparks that ignite young Jihadis in the Islamic nations. An attack on the United States inside our nation takes careful long-term planning and a good bit of funding, Al-Qaeda’s specialty, and funding has been made easier with our move to foreign oil over domestic production.

A new Al-Qaeda type organization will need a new leader, as Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, a doctor and brilliant organizer who made his reputation in the assassination Egyptian President Muhammad Anwar Sadat, has dropped off the radar. Osama bin Laden may have been the face of Al-Qaeda, but he was not the true leader. In the eight to ten thousand jihadis released from prison, there is undoubtedly an Ayman al-Zawahiri, Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden or two.

Al-Qaeda was the investment banker of Islamic terrorism. A terrorist would pitch a concept to them, and if the board agreed, they would provide funds and specialized personnel. Even though it was a horrific, we need to be thankful they went in for the big splash event like 9/11. The infrastructure of our nation is so vulnerable to attack it is concerning, very concerning, and would do more damage than a 9/11 type attack.

Our electrical distribution system is unguarded and open, as is our fuel distribution system. A dozen coordinated attacks on the few pipelines (seven major pipelines) that bring fuel from the gulf coast and southern California to the rest of our nation could destroy our economy for years.

The chances of being caught in an attack on the fuel distribution system are very low. We maintain a three-day supply of fuel; after that time, with no resupply, our economy would grind to a halt.   We are so concerned with cyber-attacks that we ignore the thousands of miles of unguarded pipelines and electrical distribution lines.

Each day that passes, we are less prepared to discover and prevent an attack on the homeland. Our lack of HUMINT (human intelligence) assets in Afghanistan and by extension the tribal area in Pakistan is troubling, extremely troubling. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has between 150 and 190 nuclear weapons, and the number is the fastest growing in all nations with nuclear capability, sometimes called the Islamic bombs.

Some portions of the Pakistan military and especially the intelligence agencies are hard-core Islamists; keeping an eye on them is a very good idea, one that is darn near impossible using our “over the horizon” capabilities. One nuclear bomb of 10 kilotons or less used as an electromagnetic pulse or transient electromagnetic disturbance weapon could destroy every device with a micro-processor or microchip in our nation — think that one over.

Just because the American President and the media wish to say international Islamic terrorism is not a current threat does not make it true; we will see the birth of well-funded, well led terrorist operations in the future. It may take months or even a year, but they are invigorated by our surrender in Afghanistan and prepared to murder infidels in the name of the only god and his one true prophet.

We have made a grave error in leaving Afghanistan and we will pay the price in the future.

Again, my opinion.