The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told reporters Wednesday that it is “possible” American forces will coordinate with the Taliban …
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told reporters Wednesday that it is “possible” American forces will coordinate with the Taliban on operations against the terrorist group ISIS-K. Milley made the comment — offering no elaboration — during a Pentagon briefing alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in response to a question about what communication between US military officials and Taliban leaders during the evacuation of Afghanistan meant for the relationship between the two and “the possibility of any kind of coordination in counter-terrorism operations against ISIS-K in Afghanistan.” Austin responded first, saying that “we were working with the Taliban on a very narrow set of issues, and it was just that – to get as many people out as we possibly could, and so I would not make any leaps of logic to broader issues. “It’s hard to predict where this will go in the future with respect to the Taliban,” Austin added. Milley initially appeared to be on the same page as Austin, calling the Taliban a “ruthless” group and saying that “whether or not they change remains to be seen.
