Gen. Kenneth McKenzie commander, U.S. Central Command, provides testimony at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on ending the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. on Sept. 29, 2021. DoD Photo
The U.S. is gathering over-the-horizon intelligence on terrorist activities in Afghanistan but hasn’t made a strike against ISIS-K and al Qaeda, the head of U.S. Central Command told a Senate panel said. Read More
Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, gives a speech at the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) change of command on March 5, 2021. US Army Photo
Iran is “the number one destabilizing factor” in the 21-nation region covered by U.S. Central Command, the nominee to head the command testified Tuesday. Read More
Iran’s Khalij Fars single-stage ballistic missile
Iran “wants some type of agreement” over its nuclear program as a way to lift sanctions on the regime, but Tehran views its ballistic missile arsenal “as their crown jewels” not to be bargained away, the senior American commander in the Middle East said Thursday. Read More
A Marine assigned to 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) provides over-watch during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug. 21, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
One explosive device detonation caused the death of 13 U.S. troops in an attack during the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to U.S. Central Command officials.
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Gen. Kenneth McKenzie commander, U.S. Central Command, provides testimony at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on ending the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. on Sept. 29, 2021. DoD Photo
The sprawling size of the U.S. airbase at Bagram and its isolation from Kabul meant that keeping it under American control was “untenable under the situation” once President Joe Biden ordered all U.S. forces out of Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command’s top officer told a House panel Wednesday. Read More
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander, United States Central Command appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan and plans for future counterterrorism operations on Sept. 28, 2021. DoD Photo
If Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden had chosen to ignore the dates set for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, it would have meant moving elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps into the land-locked country to hold Bagram Air Base and Kabul, and renewed fighting that would have endangered American forces, citizens and Afghans, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Congress today. Read More
A U.S. Marine with Task Force Southwest (TFSW) provides security for Marine advisors during an advising mission with 1st Brigade, Afghan National Army (ANA) 215th Corps as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces conduct Operation Maiwand 12 at Camp Shorserack, Afghanistan, March 12, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo
U.S. Central Command’s top officer stressed today that the military is “completely focused” on responsibly withdrawing from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the al Qaeda attack on the United States. Read More
