US Troop Draw Down in Afghanistan by 2021

Taliban warns neighboring countries to reject US military bases

The Taliban on Wednesday warned countries neighboring Afghanistan against hosting U.S. forces as the Pentagon looks for new locations to set up operations after a withdrawal from the nation.

The U.S. is anticipated to fully withdraw its forces later this year, but observers have speculated that the military will set up shop elsewhere in the Middle East or South Asia to maintain a presence in the region. The Taliban, in a statement, issued a clear warning that “misfortunes and difficulties” could befall countries that decide to host U.S. troops.

“Foreign forces are the root cause of insecurity and war in the region and the greatest tragedy is that everyone has witnessed in the last twenty years, especially our afflicted people who have suffered and continue to suffer more than anyone else. We urge neighboring countries not to allow and grant anyone such a concession,” the group said in a statement...

C.I.A. Scrambles for New Approach in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — The rapid U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan is creating intense pressure on the C.I.A. to find new ways to gather intelligence and carry out counterterrorism strikes in the country, but the agency has few good options.

The C.I.A., which has been at the heart of the 20-year American presence in Afghanistan, will soon lose bases in the country from where it has run combat missions and drone strikes while closely monitoring the Taliban and other groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The agency’s analysts are warning of the ever-growing risks of a Taliban takeover...

One focus has been Pakistan. The C.I.A. used a base there for years to launch drone strikes against militants in the country’s western mountains, but was kicked out of the facility in 2011, when U.S. relations with Pakistan unraveled.

Any deal now would have to work around the uncomfortable reality that Pakistan’s government has long supported the Taliban. In discussions between American and Pakistani officials, the Pakistanis have demanded a variety of restrictions in exchange for the use of a base in the country, and they have effectively required that they sign off on any targets that either the C.I.A. or the military would want to hit inside Afghanistan, according to three Americans familiar with the discussions...

Two decades of war in Afghanistan have helped transform the spy agency into a paramilitary organization: It carries out hundreds of drone strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, trains Afghan commando units and maintains a large presence of C.I.A. officers in a string of bases along the border with Pakistan. At one point during President Barack Obama’s first term, the agency had several hundred officers in Afghanistan, its largest surge of personnel to a country since the Vietnam War.

These operations have come at a cost. Night raids by C.I.A.-trained Afghan units left a trail of abuse that increased support for the Taliban in parts of the country. Occasional errant drone strikes in Pakistan killed civilians and increased pressure on the government in Islamabad to dial back its quiet support for C.I.A. operations...

Pentagon chief: Military has already started 'over-the-horizon' operations in Afghanistan

The U.S. military has already started conducting so-called over-the-horizon operations as it withdraws from Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday.

Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Austin declined to confirm a report in The New York Times that the military is considering continuing to provide air support to Afghan forces if Kabul or another major city starts to fall to the Taliban after U.S. troops leave.

But he said that capabilities such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) have already started to be flown into Afghanistan from outside the country during the withdrawal...

NATO approaches Qatar to seek training base for Afghan forces after withdrawal

DUBAI/BRUSSELS, June 14 (Reuters) - Security officials under NATO command have approached Qatar to secure a base that can be used to train Afghan special forces as part of a strategic commitment after foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan, three senior Western officials said.

After two decades of war, forces from 36 countries involved in NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan are set to pull out of the country in coordination with a U.S. troop withdrawal by Sept. 11.

"We are holding talks to earmark a base in Qatar to create an exclusive training ground for senior members of the Afghan forces," said a senior Western security official in Kabul...

U.S. to Move Afghans Who Aided Troops to Third Countries

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is preparing to relocate thousands of Afghan interpreters, drivers and others who worked with American forces to other countries in an effort to keep them safe while they apply for entry to the United States, senior administration officials said...

On Wednesday, administration officials started notifying lawmakers that they will soon begin what could be a wholesale move of tens of thousands of Afghans. Officials said the Afghans would be moved out of Afghanistan to third countries to await the processing of their visa requests to move to the United States.

The officials declined to say where the Afghans would wait, and it is not clear whether third countries have agreed to take them. The opportunity to move will be given to people who have already begun the application process...