Hard Lessons: ISIS attack shows need to listen to intelligence
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Though Taliban officials have publicly claimed they would not attack Western forces as they evacuated from Afghanistan, ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline, Thursday brought a sobering reminder the Taliban's public proclamations have little bearing on the actions of the Islamic State and their allies.
In twin suicide attacks that left more than 100 people dead and many wounded, the Islamic State's Afghanistan branch is believed to have been planning the attack long enough that several countries' intelligence agencies issued warnings. But the chaos at Kabul's airport makes it difficult to steer clear, as 20 years worth of Western military and civilians, and their Afghan allies and supporters, try to flee the country.
Reports on the attack by major news organizations painted the Taliban as the kinder, gentler bureaucrats to the Islamic State's vicious terrorist madmen. A closer look at what happened reveals the Taliban knew it was strengthening ISIS's ranks in Afghanistan when it swept through earlier this month releasing prisoners across the country. It also tried to deny the reports that spurred warnings of an imminent attack, and has tried to drive desperate crowds away from the airport with water cannons.
We must take lessons from Thursday's attack: We cannot trust the Taliban; ISIS and its allies will continue to try to kill us; and it is essential we pay attention to the warnings generated by intelligence gathered in the region.
If you are thinking to yourself, "Well, that's right where we were 20 years ago …" you're right.
In those two decades Americans have become as fractured as ever. The "if you see something, say something" movement gave way to a frightening unwillingness on the part of some to do what is right for the health and safety of those around them. Religious and ideological extremes dominate public discourse and drive wedges in friendships and families. We went from "United we stand" to "every man for himself," forgetting what that kind of shift might mean for national security.
But in two weeks we will observe the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and in the air over Pennsylvania. After that day we vowed to "Never forget."
ISIS just showed us they haven't. Have we?