Ex-CIA Vet Warns US Troop Pullout Will Spark Taliban, Al Qaeda Resurgence and a Critical Intel Vacuum

National security experts are warning of what could happen now that President Biden is pulling all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. They fear the withdrawal could mean a terrible outcome for that country and possibly another terrorist attack on America by Al Qaeda.

The locals in Afghanistan are full of fear about what could come next. Ms. Sadat fled to Iran twenty years ago when the Taliban took control of her country Afghanistan.

"When I was in Iran, the media used to show the destruction and war in Afghanistan, in general, we were horrified by the Taliban," Sadat said.

After returning home a decade ago to open a beauty parlor in Kabul, she now fears the Taliban's return.

"I didn't achieve what I have now easily, I worked very hard for it," Sadat said. "If the Taliban come one day and don't allow us to work, I will have to go to Iran again and live there as a migrant."

Her makeup artists and customers worry the radical Islamic group will once again impose harsh Islamic Sharia laws that often targeted girls and women.

"We don't want the old Afghanistan," said Tamila Pazhman, a makeup artist at Sadat's salon. "I haven't seen Taliban, but I fear them." 

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U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) tells CBN News there's no doubt in his mind that Al Qaeda will come roaring back when the Taliban gain control of Afghanistan.

"I do fear a Taliban takeover of the country and a resurgent Al Qaeda that will attack the homeland," Waltz warned. "We saw this when the Obama administration pulled out of Iraq too soon, that led to the rise of ISIS, attacks against Europe, and inspired attacks right here in the United States."

The Florida Republican, a decorated former Special Forces officer, led multiple combat tours to Afghanistan.

Waltz says by abandoning the critical U.S. Bagram Air Base, Biden gives up a strategic military foothold in the backyard of America's greatest rivals.

"If you just look at the map, Afghanistan is the only country in the world where we have an airbase that physically borders China," Waltz told CBN News. "Afghanistan is on the western flank of China, the southern flank of Russia, the eastern flank of Iran. Why would we just give that base up especially when the Afghan government wants us to stay."

Marc Polymeropoulos conducted multiple covert missions to Afghanistan during his 26-year career with the CIA.

"There's no doubt this is one of those foreign policy decisions that I'm afraid might come back to haunt the Biden administration," Polymeropoulos said. 

Retiring in 2019 and now writing about his experience, Polymeropoulos is the author of the upcoming book, Clarity in Crisis.

He told CBN News that by pulling out, the U.S. also gives up its huge intelligence gathering and covert operations network which took years to build following 9-11. 

In addition to withdrawing some 3,500 troops, Biden is ordering hundreds of covert forces back home.

"The bottom line is without U.S. forces on the ground that means U.S. intelligence personnel will not be on the ground and that really hurts us when it comes to human intelligence," Polymeropoulos told CBN News. "That's the art of spotting, assessing, developing, recruiting, and handling a human source, penetration of a terrorist group - without U.S. officers being on the ground that takes away a key capability for us."

As the U.S. withdrawal ramps up, Waltz worries about the fate and future of thousands of Afghans who risked their lives to work alongside the Americans.

"All of those people who have been working with us, that have stood with us against extremisms for all of these years, are going to be hunted down by the Taliban," Waltz warns. "Many of them are in a panic and are reaching out to me."

On the streets of Kabul, Afghans can only hope and pray for peace after a suicide truck bomber killed 21 people this week.

"I'm worried about explosions, killings, robberies, thefts, unemployment, and an unknown future. These are all what I worry about," said Abdul a resident of Kabul.

Afghan officials can only try to reassure a nervous public ahead of the U.S. withdrawal by September 11th. 

"Peace is my hope and the hope for all Afghans," said Noor, another resident of the Afghan capital city. "I hope Afghanistan could have peace and I hope I can see it."