(by Andrea Pinto) E 'of a few hours ago the news, at least five rockets were fired at the Kabul airport but they were intercepted by the US anti-missile system. There seem to be no casualties at the moment. Fox reports citing American defense sources. According to rumors, reported by other media, citing witnesses, the rockets were launched from a car.
Yesterday the third US raid with the use of drones, this time against a car driven by a kamikaze. CNN reports that 9 civilians were killed in the blitz, including 6 children. Washington's response: “We are evaluating the outcome of the operation. We would be sorry if there were innocent victims ". The Taliban spokesman said that an investigation is underway to establish the extent of the collateral damage. The head of the US State Department Blinken announced for today a remote meeting with key partners, there will also be Italy.
Meanwhile, the New York Times writes, the CIA - Central Intelligence Agency - he is thinking of strengthening and relaunching his counter-terrorism action in Afghanistan. This is discussed in an in-depth article published last Friday in the New York Times by Julian Barnes, Adam Goldman and Mark Mazzetti (author of The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth).
The three journalists, citing anonymous "current and former officials of the Agency", affirm that the spiral of instability in Afghanistan "could bring the CIA back to undertake a complex counter-terrorism mission ". This is happening as US officials are "reworking plans to counter threats that could emerge from chaos in Afghanistan." Their fear is that theAfghanistan. can become like Syria in 2010 and Afghanistan in the 90s, a pole of attraction for militants of all backgrounds and origins. Even if the Taliban, according to the Doha agreements, are committed to fighting terrorism (Isis and al Qaeda), the CIA does not trust their abilities, but above all their real will.
Rebuild the network immediately humint in Afghanistan. The CIA in Afghanistan has lost, over the years, its vast system of stations and outposts and its networks of agents within the country. It is not even known where to physically work them as there are no more Western embassies and consulates. Only the employees of China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran, places where perhaps it is better not to set foot. The US intelligence agency will therefore have to negotiate with neighboring countries to create structures that allow it to manage agents and operations inside Afghanistan. This will not be easy, however, given the influence of Pakistan, Russia and China in the region.
The NYT article also cites a number of "senior US officials" who argue otherwise, that is, that the CIA's priorities will not change after what has happened in recent weeks in Afghanistan while admitting that there may be more urgency on counterterrorism after the victory. of the Taliban. However, they highlight that US intelligence agencies are perfectly capable of handling "multiple priorities at the same time". But the article also mentions Don Hepburn, who served in both the CIA and the FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation“, Who argues that focusing on state and non-state actors with the same intensity is not as simple as it seems.
The considerations made by the experts are all valid, it is certain that to prevent the sprouting of different fringes of terrorists, men are needed on the field and in the absence of regular armies the sending of contractor supported by a dense and widespread network of 007 on the ground, thus re-evaluating the operations "humint". It will always take someone to show the drone where to strike exactly to avoid casualties among innocent civilians. In today's meeting with allies, the US could also ask allies for help in this regard. We'll see.