The Islamic State is back, this time in Afghanistan following the United States’ chaotic withdrawal in August 2021.  U.S. Army General Michael Kurilla, who leads Central Command, warns that the terror group will be capable of carrying out an attack on the West in less than six months “with little to no warning.”

The general’s assessment stands in stark contrast to the happy talk emanating from the White House.  Last week, the administration released a glowing “After Action Review” of President Joe Biden’s decision to draw down the last of the remaining U.S. troops fighting “America’s longest war.”  The 12-page report goes to great lengths to blame President Donald Trump for any negative repercussions.  America may no longer be able to collect detailed, on the ground intelligence from the terrorist sanctuary, as Kurilla warns.  The White House, however, is confident that “[o]ur standing around the world is significantly greater, as evidenced by multiple opinion surveys.”

Senator Lindsay Graham is furious.  The South Carolina Republican tells Fox News, "When the Biden administration tells you there are no terrorists in Afghanistan, they are lying. There's a lethal cocktail forming.”  Likewise, Brett Bruen, a former diplomat who worked in the Obama White House, is unimpressed with the administration’s spin.  As he explains to The Hill newspaper, “They stubbornly refuse to acknowledge what went wrong, to accept responsibility and most importantly to address the areas that still require fixing.”