The US cannot trust the Afghan Taliban, Marine Corps General (retd) Frank McKenzie who oversaw the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 has said. The US marine who headed the US Central Command from 2019 to 2022, further added that he believed the Afghan Taliban would act only in their own interests and they could not be trusted. “They actually have a long-term familial and customary relationship with al-Qaeda … I think that relationship is far stronger than any potential relationship they choose with the United States,” McKenzie said. His remarks came during an interview with CBS News on September 10 – a day before the anniversary of the 9/11 attack that shocked the world and launched one of the biggest US off-shore campaigns in the form of “War on Terror”. During the interview, the retired commander said that one of the reasons that the US was in Afghanistan was “to prevent the use of that country as a base from which to gather strength and either to direct or inspire attacks on our homelands, or the homelands of our allies.” He further said: “As a result of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is now far more difficult for us to pursue those objectives.” Since his retirement, McKenzie has made no secret of the fact that he opposed both President Biden and President Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.