Not only did the American withdrawal from Afghanistan end a long-term presence in a country rife with conflict, but it also rendered inaccessible an important location where the United States collected intelligence on—and acted against—terrorist threats to the homeland and American interests abroad. Central Intelligence Agency Director William J. Burns suggested as much several months before the US exit, when he told the Senate Intelligence Committee in April that withdrawing came with a “significant risk” that groups such as al-Qaeda or the Islamic State might try to re-establish a robust presence there.
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