Biden’s Next Afghanistan Challenge: How to Police It From Outside

President Joe Biden’s decision this week to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan before September 11 has left policymakers, military leaders and national security professionals wondering what happens next.

Critics haven’t been shy about pointing out that a U.S. withdrawal will leave the Taliban in a powerful position, and could even give Al Qaeda room to grow again. To keep the country from once again becoming a haven for terrorist operations, Biden will need to shift quickly from a “boots on the ground” strategy to something more remote: an offshore counterterror approach.

Biden himself has long been an advocate of this idea, dating back to his time as Barack Obama’s vice president. His administration is depending on counterterrorism capabilities from afar to manage the risks that will inevitably result from the U.S. departure. In doing so, it appears to be drawing confidence from the exponential growth in capabilities in the post-9/11 era—and America’s relative and varied effectiveness with counterterrorism operations in theatres like Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and northwestern Syria.