US military continually assessing withdrawal progress: Kirby

US leaders are continually assessing the progress of the retrograde from Afghanistan and the state of operations in the country and adjust accordingly, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said on Monday.

Addressing a press briefing, Kirby said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said the retrograde from Afghanistan is on pace but that “it is a dynamic situation in the nation”.

This comes amid a sharp increase of attacks by the Taliban against Afghan security forces’ installations and district centers, especially in the north of the country.

Kirby stated that Austin and military leaders in the Pentagon, at US Central Command and in Afghanistan, “are constantly looking at the pace we’re going at, and the capabilities we have, and the capabilities that we’re going to need throughout to complete the withdrawal.”

Kirby said. “So as we said, from the very beginning; while there is a schedule, we are mindful that that schedule could fluctuate and change, as conditions change.”

Kirby also said there are only two aspects of the Afghanistan retrograde that will not change: “The first is the US military will withdraw all US forces from the country, and the second is the withdrawal will be finished by the September deadline set by President Joe Biden.”

He added, however that some troops would stay behind to protect American diplomatic missions.

Other aspects of the Afghan situation are still being studied, Kirby said.

Commanders at many levels are wrestling with what over-the-horizon counterinsurgency and over-the-horizon logistics will look like, he said but added the US military can already provide the over-the-horizon support that the Afghan government will need.

“[People] tend to forget that we already do have over-the-horizon capability when it comes to the counterterrorism threat in Afghanistan,” he said. “Is it robust enough? Is it sustainable for the long term? Well, that’s what we’re looking at.”

Kirby also said that planners continue to look at ways to provide contractual support to Afghan forces once the retrograde is completed.

“There’s a range of options that we’re looking at for how to continue to provide contractual support … specifically the Afghan Air Forces,” he said.

“We’re very actively working our way through that right now. We’re looking at a range of options.”