President Joe Biden extended his commitment Aug. 20 to evacuate all Americans in Afghanistan, as well as the Afghans who helped coalition forces, even if it could not be done by a self-imposed Aug. 31 deadline. Military commanders in recent days had promised only “as ...
Military flight operations at Kabul’s airport resumed Aug. 16 after a period of chaos halted flights. Images and videos circulating online showed desperate Afghans mobbing U.S. Air Force C-17s as they took off to evacuate Americans and others, as the Taliban reclaimed control of the ...
As the delta variant of COVID-19 rapidly spreads across the country, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has announced he will ask President Joe Biden for a waiver to require all service members to inoculate—but he will wait at least a month, the Pentagon confirmed ...
The House and Senate passed a $2.1 billion emergency security supplemental bill July 29 that fully reimburses the National Guard for its role in protecting the U.S. Capitol after the Jan. 6 insurrection. It also provides relief for Afghan interpreters who helped the U.S. during ...
The U.S. combat mission in Iraq will end by the end of the year, though U.S. forces will continue to help Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State group, President Joe Biden announced July 26. Biden, appearing alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ...
Michael Brown, the Pentagon’s nominee to lead Defense Department acquisition, has withdrawn his nomination, citing ongoing scrutiny for allegedly circumventing hiring regulations while leading the Defense Innovation Unit. Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said July 14 that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III received a ...
President Joe Biden on June 29 laid out his case to Congress for the recent airstrikes that targeted Iranian-backed militias in Syria, as Congress is pressing to assert its control over war-making decisions and to repeal older authorizations for military force. “I directed the June ...
The Defense Department is considering sending U.S. troops back to Somalia just about six months after pulling them all out of the country as part of a broader look at the military's force posture. In December, then-President Donald J. Trump ordered troops to leave Somalia ...
The Biden administration will evacuate thousands of Afghan interpreters as the U.S. military withdraws from the country, with planning speeding up this week as Afghan leaders visit the White House and the Pentagon. President Joe Biden, June 24 said “We’ve already begun the process. Those ...
NATO nations are increasing defense spending following “persistent, consistent” messaging from the United States as the alliance also faces an assertive Russia and looks to deter China's expanding influence. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking June 15 with a group of Washington, D.C.-based reporters, said ...
Just a few moments after landing in the United Kingdom on June 9 to kick off his first foreign trip as President of the United States, Joe Biden took to a stage in a hangar at RAF Mildenhall and delivered an address to hundreds of ...
U.S. aircraft will continue to provide support for Afghan forces through the withdrawal process beginning May 1. The Pentagon’s No. 2 official said she is confident that modernized technology and processes mean “over-the-horizon” support from outside the country will be effective. “It’s not 2001—it’s 2021,” ...