US may have to coordinate with Taliban on Daesh

Taliban fighters atop an armoured vehicle parade along a road to celebrate after the US pulled all its troops out of Afghanistan, in Kandahar on September 1, 2021. (AFP)

• Milley called the Taliban a ruthless group and “whether or not they change remains to be seen”

WASHINGTON: Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says it’s “possible” the US will have to coordinate with the Taliban on any future counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan against Daesh militants or others.
Milley spoke at a Pentagon news conference Wednesday, two days after the final US troops left Afghanistan at the close of a turbulent and deadly evacuation of more than 124,000 American citizens, Afghans and others. He said it’s hard to predict how the future of the Taliban will unfold.
Milley called the Taliban a ruthless group and “whether or not they change remains to be seen.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he will make no predictions now on how the US relationship with the Taliban will look like in the future.