Ex-Afghanistan Ambassador Crocker: 'The War Is Yet to Come'

Former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker warned on Thursday that more violence is to come to the Taliban-controlled country.

In an interview on CNN's ''The Lead,'' Crocker said the U.S. withdrawal has emboldened militants in a number of countries, adding that ''what happens in Afghanistan doesn't stay in Afghanistan.''

''The war is yet to come,'' he said. ''This whole withdrawal announcement and process has been an enormous morale boost for Islamic radicals everywhere. Al-Qaida, Islamic State, Pakistani Taliban, you name it. They are on a roll, and they know it.''

Crocker, who led the U.S. Embassy in Kabul from 2002 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2012, said Afghanistan will become a ''breeding ground'' for terrorist groups.

''So the issue is not that the Taliban control the country right now; Taliban really don't control the country, and nobody does,'' he said. ''That is a breeding ground for these kinds of actions and for these kinds of people to come back and take root. And that is what brought us 9/11; we've now got the same dynamic,'' he said.

Crocker said there is already an ''upsurge in radical Islamic activities.''

''I would watch Pakistan pretty closely and I would watch for signs of activism, more visible presence, statements, attacks, whatever from a number of countries that have problems with Islamic militants,'' he said.

In an interview Sunday on CBS News' ''Face the Nation,'' Crocker said the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country has emboldened violent Islamic radicals.

''It has created a global crisis, quite frankly,'' he said. ''It has emboldened violent Islamic radicals, and I think we're all going to see the fallout of that, certainly in Pakistan. They championed the Taliban because they felt they had no choice.

''Well, the Taliban victory, the narrative of defeating the great infidel empowers radicals in Pakistan that they're going to have to deal with if they can. And that's a country of 220 million people with nuclear weapons.''

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