The former commander of U.S. Central Command warned Sunday that the Islamic terrorist group ISIS has a “strong desire” to attack the United States and other foreign powers, and that the threat is growing.
Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie told ABC News’ “This Week” that U.S. officials “should believe what they’re saying.”
McKenzie spoke of the threat posed by ISIS-K after it was blamed for a major attack in Moscow, Russia, that killed more than 140 people last month, saying, “The threat is growing.” I think so,” he said. The terrorist organization also claimed responsibility for a mass bombing in Iran in January.
“As soon as we left Afghanistan, the pressure on ISIS-K went away and ISIS-K started to grow,” McKenzie said, referring to the tumultuous 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan. I think this is inevitable, not only in the United States, but also in our partners and other countries overseas. ”
Polish leader warns of ‘pre-war era’, urges European countries to invest in defense
General at the time. Kenneth McKenzie listens during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the end of military operations in Afghanistan and plans for future counterterrorism operations, Tuesday, September 28, 2021. (Sarahbeth Manny/The New York Times, Associated Press, Pool)
McKenzie, who led U.S. forces in the Middle East, including the withdrawal from Afghanistan, said the U.S. maintains a large enough military presence in Iraq and Syria to combat extremists in the region.
The retired general argues that the United States should have kept a small force in Afghanistan during the withdrawal, rather than withdrawing completely and ending the longest war in American history.
President Biden has previously asserted that there is an “over-the-horizon capability” to take “swift and decisive action” in Afghanistan, even without troops in the region.
McKenzie said the United States currently has “very little ability to look into that country or attack that country,” which benefits ISIS and other terrorist organizations.
“If we can keep the pressure on them… it will be difficult for them to carry out these types of attacks in their homelands and bases,” he said. “Unfortunately, we don’t put that pressure on them anymore, so they’re free to step up, free to plan, free to adjust.”
McKenzie said “things would have been different” if the U.S. and its allies had maintained a small presence in Afghanistan and prolonged military involvement in the region, adding, “We might actually be safer now. ” he said he believed.
Mr McKenzie said the deadly attack in Moscow on March 22 highlighted the threat that terrorist groups could reunite and plan large-scale operations.
Despite the risks, such efforts by terrorist groups are easy to detect, McKenzie said. The United States said it warned the Kremlin of a possible terrorist plot weeks before the attack occurred.
Sweden’s Ministry of Defense warns people to prepare for ‘war’, causing panic
Retired General Kenneth McKenzie has warned that ISIS has a “strong desire” to attack the United States and other foreign forces. (Rod Lamkey/Pool, via AP)
“I think if the Russians had actually listened to what was presented, they probably would have had a good chance of avoiding this attack,” McKenzie said.
Russia’s Foreign Security Service said the suspects in the Moscow attack opened fire inside one of Russia’s largest shopping and entertainment complexes before setting it on fire.
U.S. counterterrorism officials told the New York Post that ISIS-K terrorists could cross the U.S. border and carry out attacks similar to the one in Moscow. The official said ISIS is becoming “emboldened” and its members may try to take advantage of the chaos on the southern border to seek “bigger” targets.
“An attack on the U.S. mainland is definitely possible,” the official said. “That would definitely send a message.”
Mr McKenzie’s comments on Sunday also come as European leaders warned of the possibility of war.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called on European countries to step up investment in defense, insisting that Poland is not ready for the current “pre-war era”.
Retired General Frank McKenzie has warned that the Islamic State terrorist group is an “inevitable” threat to the United States and other foreign powers, following a deadly attack in Russia last month. (AP Photo/Lolita Baldor, File)
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“I don’t want to scare anyone, but war is no longer a concept of the past,” he said in a recent interview with a European newspaper, before mentioning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “That’s true and it started over two years ago.”
And in January, Swedish defense officials warned of the possibility of war as the country moved closer to joining NATO, which has now officially happened.
“For a country where peace has been a comfortable companion for almost 210 years, the idea that peace is a constant is conveniently familiar,” Karl Oskar Bolin, Sweden’s civil defense minister, said in Forswalls at the time. Told. “Society and Defense”, annual national conference held in Søren.
“But being comfortable with this conclusion is now more dangerous than ever before,” he says. “Many people have said it before me, but let me say it more frankly, in an official capacity, with naked clarity: There could be a war in Sweden.”
