During a Senate meeting on Tuesday, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley expressed that the Taliban is still considered a terrorist organization.

Milley declared that the Taliban was and still is a terrorist organization, noting that they have not severed their ties with Al-Qaeda.

He drew light to a former time in 2020 when he warned that a rapid withdrawal threatens to jeopardize the progress made by the US and would hasten the collapse of the Afghan army.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified in congressional testimony that the Afghan army's downfall took the US "by surprise," as it " simply melted away, in many cases without firing a shot." 

The total number of soldiers killed was revealed to be 2,461 during the way, while more than 20,000 others were wounded.

Austin reconsidered the US's confidence in its ability to build a government, noting that the US possibly put too much faith in its failed capabilities. 

The US carried out the largest evacuation plan in its history, according to Austin. 

The Defense Secretary warned of future threats from Afghanistan will be difficult to contain, but not impossible. Under the Taliban's rule, Austin noted that terrorist factions could once again constitute a threat to the US in the coming months.