Afghan Forces Have Capacity to Fight, Defend Country, Milley Says

[waz]

No general they don’t.

 

[RabzonKhan]

I think you guys are being premature, Taliban cannot win as long as the United States is supporting the Afghan government militarily and financially. No doubt at present the Taliban have the momentum, but since the US once again is providing air support to the government forces, we will see how long Taliban’s momentum will last.

Yes, hundreds of Afghan security forces fled to neighboring Iran, Tajikistan and Pakistan in recent weeks, so what.

In 2001 war the Taliban collapsed in two months and fled to Pakistan. On the other hand, Najibullah’s communist government lasted for three years.

 

[Ahmet Pasha]

Afghan Forces Have Capacity to Fight, Defend Country, Milley Says

JULY 21, 2021 | BY JIM GARAMONE, DOD NEWS

The Afghan security forces have the capacity and capabilities needed to fight and defend their country, Army Gen. Mark A. Milley said today, and the United States will continue to support those forces.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke during a Pentagon press conference alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. "The future of Afghanistan is squarely in the hands of the Afghan people," Milley said. "And there is a range of possible outcomes in Afghanistan. … A negative outcome – a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan – is not a foregone conclusion."

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The general said the United States will continue to monitor the situation there and make adjustments to the support as necessary, he said.

Milley gave a quick rundown of the situation in Afghanistan. "There very clearly is a narrative out there that the Taliban are winning – they are propagating an 'inevitable victory'," he said. "As of today, 212 or 213 of the district centers are in Taliban control – it's about half of the 419 that are out there. You've got 34 provincial capitals in Afghanistan. None of them have been seized by the Taliban, although they are putting pressure on the outskirts of about half of them."

The provincial capitals have most of the population and the Taliban is trying to isolate the major population centers including Kabul, the general said.

The Taliban has seized a substantial swath of territory and "the strategic momentum seems to be with the Taliban, but the Afghan security forces are consolidating their forces to protect population centers," Milley said. "They are adjusting forces to consolidate forces into the provincial capitals and Kabul. It remains to be seen what will happen. … I don't think the endgame is yet written."

Reporters asked Milley about comments attributed to him in a recent book. While he did not address those directly, he did emphasize that he and the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff always provide their best military advice to whoever is president. Any advice given to leaders was "candid, honest in every single occasion," Milley said. "We do that all the time, every time. All of us in uniform take an oath, an oath to a document, an oath [to] the Constitution of the United States. And not one time did we violate that oath. I can say with certainty that every one of [us] maintained our oath of allegiance to that document … and we also maintained the tradition of civilian control of the military … and we also maintained the tradition of an apolitical military."

Austin has served alongside Milley in combat. "We fought together, we served a couple of times in the same unit," the secretary said. "I'm not guessing about his character: He doesn't have a political bone in his body. I clearly have tremendous faith and confidence in the chairman and what I want to make sure we do is maintain our focus on the threats ahead."

People here get so offended/surprised when İ tell em your government/generals are lying to your face about Afghanistan. Fun to watch hahaha

premature

You are premature if you "arrive" early. You are immature if you're acting like a kid.

 

[RabzonKhan]

The US no longer has aircraft stationed in Afghanistan. The warplanes are based in the Persian Gulf region. I wonder, whose airspace?



Pace of US Airstrikes in Afghanistan Increases as Taliban Violence Continues

July 27, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine


U.S. aircraft are increasing the pace of airstrikes targeting the Taliban in Afghanistan after nearly all American troops have left the country, as the level of violence in the country continues to rise.

More than 95 percent of the U.S. withdrawal process is complete—a number that has stayed steady over the past several weeks, according to U.S. Central Command’s latest update. CENTCOM boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., during a July 25 visit to Kabul, said the U.S. military’s assistance to Afghan forces also will remain steady as the Aug. 31 deadline for the full withdrawal approaches.

“The United States has increased airstrikes in the support of Afghan forces over the last several days, and we’re prepared to continue this heightened level of support in the coming weeks if the Taliban continue their attacks,” McKenzie said in a CENTCOM release. “I reassured the government that we are continuing to provide airstrikes in defense of ANDSF forces under attack by the Taliban, contract logistics support both here in Kabul and over-the-horizon in the region, funding for them, intelligence sharing, and advising and assisting through security consultations at the strategic level.”

A July 27 release from the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing provides a glimpse of how USAF aircraft are supplying this over-the-horizon strike support.

In recent weeks, about half of the F-15Es from the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron forward deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, to “support the Resolute Support mission set and improve the defensive posture in the Arabian Peninsula,” said Capt. Trey Pollard, F-15E fighter weapons systems officer with the 494th EFS, in the release.

F-15E missions included “covering routine vulnerability periods, providing alert capability, and other flexible mission sets as necessary,” he said.

For these missions, KC-10 Extenders from the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron worked closely with the 494th. This included a KC-10 flying with F-15Es to Afghanistan and staying with them as a dedicated tanker, the release states. KC-10s also flew to the region to refuel fighters from other bases.

Once the 494th EFS was set to redeploy, a KC-10 brought most of the Airmen and related equipment home and refueled the seven F-15Es on the way back.

“Without the KC-10 to help, they were hard pressed to make the trip all in one go,” 908th EARS Operations Officer Maj. Austin Bentley said in the release. “They would have had to load the cargo and passengers on another grey tail to get the equipment and maintainers and ground personnel back, and would need a KC-135, or even two, to get enough gas to the fighters to make the trip.”

During the press conference in Kabul, McKenzie provided additional insight into how U.S. support for the Afghan Air Force will continue.

“We continue to provide contract maintenance and logistics support here in Kabul to maintain Afghan defense capabilities, including their aviation capability,” he said. “We continue to provide maintenance, advising them from over the horizon, and we’re prepared to execute over-the-horizon aircraft maintenance and refurbishment with aircraft that will be flown to a third country, repaired, and returned to service in Afghanistan with the Afghan Air Force.”

 

[SecularNationalist]

I can understand delusional afghans making such boasts during bacha Bazi, but a sane US general?
Oh brother!

Look at the face of general milley he looks like a war criminal.

 

[RabzonKhan]

You are premature if you "arrive" early. You are immature if you're acting like a kid.

The point I was trying to make was, it is premature (too early) to celebrate Taliban’s victory.


You can say that something is premature when it happens too early and is therefore inappropriate.

It now seems their optimism was premature.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/premature


Their criticisms seem premature considering that the results aren't yet known.

A spokesman said it was premature to comment on the negotiations.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/premature

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

The US has to now go for the last largest denominator, that is, Pak if they want to salvage anything at all….