Pentagon Mulls Options for Stay-Behind Strike Capability in Afghanistan Region
Since President Biden announced his plans to pull combat troops out of Afghanistan, US military officials have said they plan to keep assets in the region so the US could maintain the ability to bomb targets in the country. But it’s not clear where US forces could be deployed.
David Helvey, acting assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs, was asked about this issue on Wednesday during a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee.
“Those planning efforts are in parallel [with the drawdown], but they’re not linked,” Helvey said. “We have a substantial capability in the Middle East. We’ll still have the ability to prosecute terrorism from positions around the region. Looking at what that footprint is going to be like within the region is going to be an important part of the equation.”
The Biden administration is debating how to get thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. out of the country before American forces withdraw in a few months, amid fears that time is running out ahead of a potential Taliban takeover.
White House national security aides have held several meetings about the issue in recent days to trade ideas, discussing options including a mass evacuation of thousands of people to a third country where they could be processed and brought to the U.S. The biggest concern for U.S. officials is that Afghan citizens who played an invaluable role serving American forces and contractors such as translators, consultants, office assistants and drivers would be quickly targeted by Taliban forces, especially if they continue to gain ground on President Ashraf Ghani’s government in Kabul.
Who else will be there: Testifying alongside Miller on Wednesday will be former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee.
In his testimony, Rosen will similarly defend preparations ahead of the attack, according to a copy of remarks obtained by The Hill.
Rosen’s defense: “I believe that DOJ [Department of Justice] reasonably prepared for contingencies ahead of January 6, understanding that there was considerable uncertainty as to how many people would arrive, who those people would be, and precisely what purposes they would pursue. Unlike the police, DOJ had no frontline role with respect to crowd control,” Rosen wrote. “But DOJ took appropriate precautions to have tactical support available if contingencies led to them being called upon.”
Jack Reed vows to get defense budget done despite delays from the White House Jamie McIntyre
BUDGET CRUNCH, ‘HARD CHOICES’: Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman
Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, says he and the committee’s top Republican,
Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, are hoping to finish work on the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act before the next fiscal year starts, despite a late start forced by the late budget submission by the White House.
“Both Sen. Inhofe and I are determined to get our bill to the floor and then get the conference done and get a bill to the president s desk,” Reed said yesterday at an event sponsored by the Reagan Institute. “It s going to be difficult. We re going to have to make some hard choices, but our intention is to get the bill done. And to do so in a way that enhances our security.”
WASHINGTON
Defense officials had few solid answers Wednesday as frustrated lawmakers sought details on how the United States will keep the terrorist threat from reemerging in Afghanistan after American and coalition troops leave later this year.
Under persistent questions from members of the House Armed Services Committee, the officials said discussions and negotiations are continuing on almost every aspect of the pullout: the post-withdrawal security of Afghanistan, the training of Afghan troops, intelligence collection, protections for Afghans who have helped coalition troops, and the potential for a U.S. diplomatic presence in the nation.
The testimony from David Helvey, acting assistant defense secretary for the Indo-Pacific, and Brig. Gen. Matthew Trollinger, deputy director for political and military affairs on the Joint Staff, laid bare the lack of solutions so far on how the Biden administration will monitor and possibly fight threats in Afghanistan from “over the ho