From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to China’s ongoing provocation related to Tawain, we’ve known it’s a time of geopolitical consequence. Not since the Cold War have we lived in a time of such uncertainty. That was magnified with the flawed US fleeing of Afghanistan last year and most recently NATO “ally” Turkey taking US F-16's into a meeting with Putin and the Mullahs in Iran. The US has been in need of a win, and while Al Qaeda doesn’t officially preside over any country at present, the taking down of Al Qaeda’s number two mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attacks is huge. It’s huge from an accountability perspective. It’s huge because the US needed a geopolitical win. It’s also huge because of how it happened. On back of our failed evacuation from Afghanistan, I had two concerns. Projected weakness on the world stage with a host of bad actors waiting in the wings to act out. And what it specifically meant from a US national security perspective. We learned in the hardest of ways that what happened in Afghanistan didn’t stay in Afghanistan. It’s now clear after this successful drone strike in Afghanistan we have credible intelligence on the ground, and credible forces in the area to aid in preserving our interests. But Afghanistan isn’t just about Islamic terror any longer, it’s about Chinese interests as well. Make no mistake, the Chinese government which actively persecutes Muslims in its own country, has no love for them outside of it – so the taking out of a top terrorist is something we’re agreed on. But who commandeered much of the US machinery we abandoned in Afghanistan last year? China. Who is currently exploiting resources from Afghanistan since the fall of their previous US-backed government? China. Having a credible presence and intelligence in the region is arguably more important due to the Chinese influence in the country as it is to keeping terror at bay.
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