Panetta on Afghanistan: ‘No Question that They’re Providing a Safe Haven for Terrorists’

Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” former Obama administration Defense Secretary Leon Panetta weighed in on former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s reported killing in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Panetta suggested that Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul was proof Afghanistan had become a “safe haven for terrorists” a year following President Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal.

“[A]nother mission that came out of 9/11 was that we were going to make sure that Afghanistan would never again be taken over by the Taliban and become a safe haven for terrorism. Unfortunately, that has happened,” Panetta lamented.

“The Taliban is now in charge of Afghanistan,” he continued. “There’s no question that they’re providing a safe haven for terrorists. The Haqqanis, who are involved with the Taliban, are terrorists themselves. And the fact that Zawahiri, one of the top leaders of al-Qaeda, could simply walk into Kabul, get an apartment in the middle of the capital; not have anybody raise any questions sends a real signal that the Taliban is going to continue to provide a safe haven for terrorism. And the United States has a real responsibility to continue to be able to determine whether or not there are going to be threats against the United States or our allies emanating from Afghanistan.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent

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