WarontheRocks: Contradicting Biden’s assessment, the Taliban’s 2021 ascension reinvigorated al-Qaeda’s Afghan operations. Al-Qaeda commanders are back in Afghanistan, swiftly reactivating the group’s presence. Training camps are now operational in five provinces, including Zabul and Nuristan, areas that Osama bin Laden once earmarked as crucial for al-Qaeda. In Nuristan, these camps are actively training suicide bombers, signaling a revival of al-Qaeda’s past strategies, evocative of their roles in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, the 2000 USS Cole bombing, and the 9/11 attacks — all executed under the Taliban’s shield. Click here to read more (external link).