At least five provincial Afghan capitals had fallen to the Taliban within three days, and U.S. airstrikes had failed to turn the tide for retreating Afghan forces, leading the Pentagon on Aug. 9 to preemptively blame a lack of political and combat “leadership” if the ...
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on June 10 would not say whether the U.S. military will still conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan to defend population centers after the retrograde completes this summer, but the Pentagon is pursuing ways to base surveillance and strike aircraft closer ...
U.S. aircraft will continue to provide support for Afghan forces through the withdrawal process beginning May 1. The Pentagon’s No. 2 official said she is confident that modernized technology and processes mean “over-the-horizon” support from outside the country will be effective. “It’s not 2001—it’s 2021,” ...