SecDef’s welcome: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
He also said about 300 U.S. troops from several installations are prepared to “provide logistics, temporary lodging and medical support at Fort Lee.”
“We have spoken many times about the moral obligation we have to help those who have helped us, and we are fully committed to working closely with our interagency partners to meet that obligation,” Austin added.
What now: The Afghans are expected to stay at Fort Lee for about a week as they complete a final medical check as required by law, as well as some final Department of Homeland Security processing, said Tracey Jacobson, who is overseeing the evacuation operation for the State Department.
Here are some of the other highlights of the hearing:
On Afghanistan: Milley downplayed recent battlefield successes by the Taliban in Afghanistan, stressing that most of the district centers controlled by the insurgents were seized before the U.S. military began withdrawing and that no provincial capitals have fallen.
“There s 81 district centers that are currently, we think, are underneath Taliban control. That s out of 419 district centers,” he said. “There s no provincial capital that is underneath Taliban control, and there’s 34 of those.
“It is true that the Taliban are sniping at and picking off outposts, etc., and they have seized some district centers,” he continued. “Sixty percent of the 81 were seized last year, and the others since the last two months or so. So, yes, we re concerned, we re watching it, but there s a 300,000, plus or minus, military force, Afghanistan army and police force, and it is their job to defend their country.”
Upon arriving, Biden touted the sacred obligation” of NATO’s mutual defense commitment, known as Article 5.
“NATO is critically important for U.S. interests in and of itself. If there weren t one, we d have to invent one, he said.
Among the focuses of the summit were updating the alliance s defense strategy, cybersecurity, climate change and the looming U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
On Afghanistan: One of the outcomes of the summit was a decision to continue NATO’s training mission for Afghan forces after U.S. and NATO troops withdraw from the country.
“NATO leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue to stand with Afghanistan with training and financial support for Afghan forces and institutions,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in remarks at the end of the meeting.