Former top U.S. general warns ISIS has a 'strong desire' to target the United States and a future terrorist plot is 'inevitable' because of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal

A former top U.S. general who oversaw Biden's failed military withdrawal from Afghanistan says that a future ISIS terrorist attack on Americans is 'inevitable.' 

The chilling possibility of a forthcoming ISIS attack on U.S. soil is heightened because of the disastrous 2021 military evacuation from Afghanistan, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie told ABC News Sunday. 

McKenzie, who served as the head of U.S. Central Command during the withdrawal, said that the religious terror group has a 'strong desire' to attack America and since leaving Afghanistan they have a stronger capability to do so. 

'I think the threat is growing,' he said. 'It began to grow as soon as we left Afghanistan, it took pressure off ISIS-K.'

'So I think we should expect further attempts of this nature against the United States as well as our partners and other nations abroad,' McKenzie continued.

'I think this is inevitable.'

Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie (L) planned the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan just days before the last American troops left the country

McKenzie said Sunday that the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan has let ISIS-K grow without impediment. That growth of the Islamic terror group means that an attack on the U.S. by the group is 'inevitable'

His comments come after the Islamic terror group took responsibility for a March attack at a Russian music hall that left over 140 civilians dead. 

The tragedy was carried out by four militants that had Russian citizenship. 

Despite U.S. officials warning their Russian counterparts of an impending attack, the warnings went unheeded, and hundreds died.

The group also claimed responsibility for a January suicide bombing in Iran that left 95 dead.

McKenzie said the lack of pressure on ISIS in their home base Afghanistan means the group has had 'the opportunity to reach out' and attack other countries. 

'Unfortunately, we no longer place that pressure on them, so they're free to gain strength, they're free to plan, they're free to coordinate,' he said. 

'So they desire to attack not only Russia but also the United States and other Western nations as well.'

McKenzie has said he believes the U.S. should have kept a presence of a couple thousand troops in the country along with several more thousand from allied NATO countries. 

A massive blaze is seen over the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024. Several gunmen bursted into a big concert hall in Moscow and fired automatic weapons at the crowd, injuring hundreds of people and setting a massive blaze

Propaganda photos released by ISIS show militants armed in Afghanistan 

He also added that 'things would be different' had the U.S. kept its troops in place and did not withdraw from the country.   

'We might actually be safer than we are,' he said.

He also disagreed with President Joe Biden's assessment that the U.S. has an 'over-the-horizon capability' to 'act quickly and decisively' in Afghanistan should military operations be needed. 

'In Afghanistan, we have almost no ability to see into that country and almost no ability to strike into that country,' he said.