The Khorasan terrorist group that was a target of U.S. airstrikes in Syria consists of former al-Qaida members and Afghan transplants, says former CIA operative Gary Berntsen.
"The Khorosan group are a group of former al-Qaida members, core al-Qaida members, that fought in Afghanistan, that have moved and transplanted themselves over to the area inside of Syria, where ISIS and the Nusra Front are operating," Berntsen told Ed Berliner on "MidPoint" on
Newsmax TV on Tuesday.
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"They're operating from the space where the
Nusra Front operates and they're planning attacks on the United States, clear and simple," he explained.
"We've known about members in that group because some of them are actually sort of house guests of the Iranians for years and then ultimately were released and then have been moving around," he said.
"Others were in Afghanistan and escaped from us during the invasion back in 2001," he added.
"Some of these guys have been around awhile," the former CIA operative explained further. "Others are new members, but they've got experience."
"If they have the intention, the capability, and the access, they're going to be able to execute some attacks on us," he says.
Berntsen contends that the inclusion of Muslim nations in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) is necessary.
"We're going to need the allies of Islamic governments, and that was the importance of bringing in countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, and getting Qatar to sort of jump on board and assist as well in this opening salvo," he explained.
"We need the Sunni governments with us so that Sunni clerics like Yusef al-Qaradawi in the Middle East can't say that this is a war on Islam," he said.
"It's not," he added. "We are teemed with Sunni Islamic states to destroy these heretics.
"The administration deserves kudos for getting them together."
"A lot of people are criticizing the fact that this isn't a 40-country coalition, but the reality is it's the right group of countries," he said.
Middle East expert
Walid Phares told Newsmax that "the formation of this new Arab bloc . . . is an indication that these countries now feel that this threat is very near."
The former CIA operative said the U.S. should also enlist Turkey, Kuwait and Egypt in the fight as the operation continues.
"That would show a very large swath of the Islamic world, the official Islamic world, against these terrorists," he added.
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