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 ...
Afghanistan withdrawal
The effectiveness of the Afghan Air Force is already dropping even before U.S. and coalition forces complete their withdrawal from the country, with the majority of its airframes losing readiness last month. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction on July 28 released its latest ...
U.S. aircraft are increasing the pace of airstrikes targeting the Taliban in Afghanistan after nearly all American troops have left the country, as the level of violence continues to rise. More than 95 percent of the U.S. withdrawal process is complete—a number that has stayed ...
The U.S. combat mission in Iraq will end by the end of the year, though U.S. forces will continue to help Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State group, President Joe Biden announced July 26. Biden, appearing alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ...
The Afghan military’s future is in question because of the lack of a reliable source of fuel as the U.S. withdraws. About half of the fuel provided to the country’s fighting forces reportedly is being stolen, and the U.S. military, which has poured billions of ...
The Taliban controls approximately half of all district centers in Afghanistan, but the Afghan military is consolidating its forces to protect population centers and the “endgame” is not yet written, the U.S. military’s top general said July 21. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ...
The Pentagon will honor a request from the State Department to initially house at least 2,500 Afghan interpreters and their families at Fort Lee, Va., to escape possible retribution from the Taliban. President Joe Biden has said the interpreters, and others who helped U.S. forces ...
The White House on July 14 announced Operation Allies Refuge, an effort to fly interpreters who helped the U.S. military in Afghanistan out of the country. The operation is beginning as the Taliban makes major gains in the country now that the U.S. has withdrawn ...
Afghanistan’s American-trained, equipped, and financed military has lost dozens of provinces to the Taliban in “tactical retreats” in the 10 weeks since the U.S. began its withdrawal, but an Afghan government official promised July 13 that his country would not succumb to the Taliban rebels ...
U.S. forces in Afghanistan have a new commander for the waning days of the war who the Pentagon says will retain the authority to conduct strikes in support of Afghan forces—something that has happened during the withdrawal, though the Defense Department will not provide specifics. ...
As the last Americans leave Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command will look to space to support its continued counterterrorism mission against al-Qaida and Islamic State group remnants, U.S. Space Command confirmed to Air Force Magazine. America’s eyes in the sky will form the only intelligence picture ...
The U.S. mission in Afghanistan will conclude Aug. 31 with almost all American personnel and equipment withdrawn from the country, said President Joe Biden on July 8. He also promised that Afghan interpreters will have a place in the United States after the U.S. leaves ...
