Blinken Says US Will 'Have Means' to Monitor Terrorist Threats After Troops Leave Afghanistan - FARS

(FNA)- Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the US would still have the capability to monitor for intelligence in Afghanistan on possible terrorist attacks after troops withdraw from the country in September.

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week”, host Martha Raddatz asked Blinken about the US having a diminished ability to collect intelligence without troops on the ground.

“We will have the means to see if there is a resurgence, a reemergence of a terrorist threat from Afghanistan,” Blinken stated, adding, “We'll be able to see that in real time with time to take action. And we're going to be repositioning our forces and our assets to make sure that we guard against the potential reemergence.”

When Raddatz asked about doubts on trusting the Taliban, Blinken explained that the US had "different capabilities, different assets" than in 2001, the year of the 9/11 terrorists attacks.

"Well, that's exactly why we're going to make sure that we have assets appropriately in place to see this coming, if it comes again, to see it and to be able to deal with it," Blinken noted.

"This is, again, a very different world than the one we had in 2001. We have different capabilities, different assets, and I think a greater ability to see something coming with time to do something about it," he continued.