Are Iran and the Afghan Taliban teaming up against ISIS?

2015-06-17T16:05:10-04:00

LONDON — A bloody clash between the Afghan Taliban and followers of the so-called Islamic State late last month in western Afghanistan has exposed critical shifts in alliances in a war the United States is still trying to fight. Most important, there appear to be consultations, at least, between the Taliban and Iran about how to meet the growing threat posed by the extremists of ISIS, as the self-proclaimed Islamic State is widely known.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/17/iran-and-the-afghan-taliban-teaming-up-against-isis.html

Iran and the Afghan Taliban Teaming Up Against ISIS

The Iranians and Taliban used to be deadly enemies. But they’re finding common cause against the threat of Islamic State followers in Afghanistan.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 17 at 2015 4:42 PM

2015-06-17T16:42:24-04:00

What we actually need are the local powers to clean up their own area. So maybe this will lead to that.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Jun 17 at 2015 5:26 PM

2015-06-17T17:26:50-04:00

well that presents an additional complication, we cannot chose either side of these two choices....we need the ANA and ANP to stand strong.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jun 17 at 2015 6:22 PM

2015-06-17T18:22:19-04:00

It makes it tempting to supply whichever side is losing to keep them killing one another off - it will save us work in the future.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Jun 17 at 2015 9:42 PM

2015-06-17T21:42:01-04:00

The issue here is who is the greater threat? I believe that it's Daesh/ISIL. The fact that the Taliban (Sunni) and Iran (Shia) have banded together indicates that they do too. Daesh is killing Sunni/ Shia/Druze/Christian/Yasidi across Syria and into Iraq and is extending into Saudi Arabia.

They're not discriminating, that makes them a danger to everyone in the region. Daesh will indeed have to be confronted by the regional powers if they want to maintain their sovereignty,

Simply put, the enemy of my is my friend.