1166: Al Qaeda explains that US travails are theologically foretold and deserved. @thomasjoscelyn, @FDD
Image: Barely visible among the rocks, US Marine Corps (USMC) Marines assigned to the Battalion Landing Team (BLT), 1ST Battalion, 6th Marines, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Special Operations Capable (SOC), deploy against entrenched Taliban fighters in a valley near the village of Khabargho, Afghanistan during Operation Asbury Park. Tom Joscelyn, @thomasjoscelyn, Long War Journal and @FDD; podcast: Generation Jihad, @LongWarJournal; in re: Al Qaeda leader ship in the Arabian peninsula (AQAP) commented on the January 6 tragedy, believes this is all either foretold or deserved Al Q is a major, major actor. Khalid Batarfi: an ideologue, respected for religious knowledge, and an operator globally. He was said to have been captured; was not. Remarking on the US, he cites hurricanes, tornadoes, diseases, ____, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Taliban has surrounded some provincial capitals in Afghanistan. Primed to take over Kabul. Americans consistently underestimate Taliban presence in Afghanistan. This administration us reviewing the Taliban deal – there’s not much to it, it’s simply a withdrawal deal. In exchange for which the US endorses Taliban.