Tag Archives: Pakistan

One Explosive Device Responsible for Deaths of 13 U.S. Service Members in Kabul Attack, Pentagon Says

One Explosive Device Responsible for Deaths of 13 U.S. Service Members in Kabul Attack, Pentagon Says

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.
Read More

CENTCOM: Keeping Bagram Airbase Was ‘Untenable’ Under White House Rules for Afghanistan Withdrawal

CENTCOM: Keeping Bagram Airbase Was ‘Untenable’ Under White House Rules for Afghanistan Withdrawal

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

Milley: Staying in Afghanistan Past Deadline Would Have Put U.S. Troops, Afghans in Danger

Milley: Staying in Afghanistan Past Deadline Would Have Put U.S. Troops, Afghans in Danger

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

Panel: U.S. Began Afghanistan War with Unrealistic Expectations

Panel: U.S. Began Afghanistan War with Unrealistic Expectations

U.S. Soldiers and contractors load High Mobility Multi-purposed Wheeled Vehicles, HUMVs, to be sent for transport in support of the Resolute Support retrograde mission in Afghanistan on July 13, 2020. US Army Photo

American expectations of what could be achieved in Afghanistan – establishing a democracy by defeating al Qaeda and the Taliban – were too high, and initially too narrowly focused on revenge and justice following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, two national security experts said Thursday.
Read More

Continued U.S.-India Cooperation Under Biden Administration Remains An Open Question, Experts Say

Continued U.S.-India Cooperation Under Biden Administration Remains An Open Question, Experts Say

Australian, Indian and U.S. ships sail past each other as fixed-wing aircraft from the India and U.S. navies conduct a flyover during Malabar 2020 on Nov. 20, 2020. US Navy Photo

The question of whether the “accelerated rise” in military cooperation with India – from exercises like Malabar to sharing sensitive satellite targeting intelligence – will continue under the Biden administration remains open, two experts in Indian strategy said Wednesday. Read More