The Biden administration is not planning to carry out airstrikes against the Taliban after the U.S. military withdrawal in Afghanistan is complete, but the policy may need to be revisited if militants threaten security at key U.S. and allied diplomatic facilities in Kabul, U.S. officials said.

The Afghan defense minister, Asadullah Khalid, had said in a speech last month that it was possible air support could continue for Afghan forces battling the Taliban even after the U.S. military was gone.

Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, the chief of U.S. Central Command, said in an interview with Voice of America on Monday that U.S. plans call for airstrikes in Afghanistan after the withdrawal only in circumstances involving threats on the United States and its allies.

“That would be the reason for any strikes that we do in Afghanistan after we leave,” McKenzie said, adding that it “would have to be that we’ve uncovered someone who wants to attack the homeland of the United States, one of our allies and partners.”

Such a policy would effectively rule out airstrikes against the Taliban. For years, the United States has drawn a distinction between the militants and terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, finding that the Taliban does not pose a direct threat in the United States.

But the reality could become more complicated if the Taliban masses troops to take over parts of Kabul, a capital city of about 6 million people. It includes the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic facilities in a Green Zone and Hamid Karzai International Airport, which is a few miles away.

One U.S. official said Monday that American leaders are likely to need to revisit the policy to protect the embassy in Kabul and facilities required to keep it running, including the airport. Doing so, the official said, would require protecting not only the Green Zone and airport but much of the city.

“Bombs in Kabul are different than bombs in other districts and provinces,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. “Even if it’s not in the Green Zone, it has an impact across the diplomatic community.”

The United States plans to leave behind a force of about 600 service members at the embassy in Kabul after the withdrawal is complete, to provide security, the official said.

It is likely to be led by a one- or two-star general who will serve as a military attache and report to the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.

The Biden administration has revealed little about its plans after the military withdrawal is complete, set for no later than September.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, asked last week during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about the possibility of airstrikes against the Taliban after the withdrawal, declined to answer directly.

“I won’t speculate about any potential outcomes or any potential future actions,” Austin said. “I will just say that the president has been clear that our mission in Afghanistan has been accomplished, and we are focused on retrograding our people and equipment out.”

Austin added that counterterrorism efforts in the future will be focused “on those elements that can possibly conduct attacks against our homeland.”

Maj. Rob Lodewick, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to elaborate Monday, referring back to Austin’s previous remarks. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. government is still wrestling with how to handle thousands of interpreters who worked for the U.S. military and other American agencies in Afghanistan and who now seek to flee the country. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the State Department is considering “every option” to assist but has not yet detailed a plan to do so.

On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul suspended processing for visas, citing the coronavirus outbreak in Afghanistan. The embassy said in a statement that it regrets the “inconvenience” to people affected but is protecting the health of its staff.

By Dan Lamothe in The Washington Post,
June 15, 2021

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/us-withdrawal-airstrikes-taliban/2021/06/14/ea7cb28a-cd28-11eb-9b7e-e06f6cfdece8_story.html