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B-52 bombers ‘arrived in region’ as withdrawal process begins: Kirby
US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that measures are being taken to safeguard US troops while they withdraw from Afghanistan and that already two B-52 bombers have arrived in the region for this purpose.
The Pentagon has also approved the deployment of hundreds of maritime, air and land forces to the region to ensure security for American and NATO forces as well as contractors as they withdraw, officials meanwhile told CNN.
According to Kirby, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved the extension of the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier’s mission to “remain in the Central Command area of responsibility for a period of time,” and approved “the addition of some long-range bombers” to the region in preparation for US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Two B-52 bombers have arrived in the region already, Kirby said.
“I think it’s reasonable to assume as I’ve said before that there could be temporary additional force protection measures and enablers that we would require to make sure again that this drawdown goes smoothly and safely,” Kirby said during his Friday press briefing.
Officials meanwhile told CNN that the immediate focus is on continuing to ship out unneeded equipment and supplies that are either not being destroyed in place or transferred to Afghan forces.
“Obsolete” equipment will be destroyed, the official said adding that the movement of personnel out of Afghanistan will still not begin “for a few weeks,” and that the US will “retain our ability to defend the force and provide support” to Afghan units.
CNN reported that several hundred ground troops will also be sent to Afghanistan to provide “force protection” for troops leaving the nation. Under the Defense Department approval, no more than 1,000 ground forces will be sent.
According to CNN, there is particular concern about the safety of troops as they leave more remote locations around Kandahar, Jalalabad, and some special operations force locations in eastern Afghanistan.
Currently, there are 2,500 US conventional forces in Afghanistan plus hundreds of additional special operations forces that are not publicly acknowledged.
CNN reported that the military also plans to maintain combat air patrols over Afghanistan throughout the withdrawal to maintain security.
Several defense officials told CNN that informally there will be an effort to conduct as much of the withdrawal as possible before the September 11 deadline set by US President Joe Biden.
Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.
Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.
A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.
Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.
The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.
Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.
Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.
He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.
Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.
“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.
Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”
However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.
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