On NPR, ASAP’s Pforzheimer analyzes remaining security threats in Afghanistan

In a May 10 interview on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Annie Pforzheimer drew on her experience as the former Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to paint a picture of how the Taliban and allies such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda will likely remain a threat to Afghanistan’s security, especially in the wake of withdrawal of U.S. troops by September 11 of this year.

It’s well documented, she said, that the Taliban, al-Qaida and the Haqqani network (in essence, a subset of the Taliban) work together. “United Nations reports and others have shown that al-Qaida still retains a lot of advisory status with the Taliban,” she said. “And with regard to the Taliban and ISIS, I think that they have fought each other over territory. But again, they essentially enable each other by stretching thin the Afghan security forces.”

She also noted that, while there’s good reason to speculate the Islamic State followers were likely responsible for the devastating attack May 8 attack on a girls’ school run in a Shiite enclave of Kabul, “when the Taliban denies it, they’re missing the point that their activities have set the stage for ISIS to remain in Afghanistan and to gain power.”

Pforzheimer is a member of the steering committee of the Alliance in Support of the Afghan People.