US nearing a formal agreement to use Pakistan's airspace to carry out military operations in Afghanistan

The briefing comes because the White House remains to be making an attempt to be sure that it might probably carry out counterterrorism operations towards ISIS-Ok and different adversaries in Afghanistan now that there isn't a longer a US presence on the bottom for the primary time in twenty years after the NATO withdrawal from the nation.

A Pentagon spokesman mentioned the Defense Department doesn't touch upon closed briefings due to safety classifications. CNN has reached out to the National Security Council, State Department and Pakistan embassy in Washington for remark.

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan 'lengthy shot' choices for over-the-horizon operations

At the identical time, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are rising as the highest choices for potential areas to set up a US military presence to conduct so-called over-the-horizon operations in Afghanistan, the sources mentioned, however each would run into extreme opposition from Russian President Vladimir Putin and a few native politicians. "Both are long shots," one supply mentioned, calling them "likely pipe dreams due to needing Putin's blessing."

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visited Uzbekistan earlier this month the place she mentioned "the way forward in Afghanistan" with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in accordance to a readout of the assembly.

Currently, the US conducts its over-the-horizon operations from bases in the Middle East, forcing drones to fly from distant bases, similar to these in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, round Iran and thru Pakistani air house earlier than reaching Afghanistan. The prolonged flight limits the time drones can loiter over Afghanistan gathering intelligence, and the Biden administration has been on the lookout for nearer, simpler choices.

The commander of US Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie, instructed lawmakers final month that he nonetheless has "the ability to look into Afghanistan," however it's "limited." McKenzie additionally mentioned he was not assured in the US' capability to stop ISIS and al Qaeda from utilizing Afghanistan as a launchpad for terrorist exercise in the long run.

"The US maintains ongoing ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) capabilities as needed to support the over-the-horizon and counter-terrorism mission requirements," a protection official instructed CNN. That consists of not solely drones, but additionally indicators intelligence and cyber capabilities to monitor the scenario in Afghanistan.

Biden promised US would preserve counterterrorism capabliity

President Joe Biden mentioned in July, weeks earlier than the evacuation from Afghanistan and the autumn of Kabul to the Taliban, that the US would preserve its capability to function in the nation, even when US troops had been not on the bottom.

"We are developing a counterterrorism over-the-horizon capability that will allow us to keep our eyes firmly fixed on any direct threats to the United States in the region, and act quickly and decisively if needed," he mentioned on July 8.

But lawmakers have questioned the White House's capability to fulfil that promise. The Pentagon has repeatedly mentioned the US can proceed to battle terrorism in the area by means of over-the-horizon capabilities, however the Defense Department has not mentioned the place these capabilities can be headquartered in the area.

"They're building the plane as they fly it," one Senate aide instructed CNN of what Pentagon officers have shared about over-the-horizon plans.

On Thursday, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, mentioned the US is "in a worse place to understand and track the terrorist threats coming from Afghanistan," following a categorized briefing on Afghanistan. The briefing included a dialogue of over-the-horizon capabilities, in accordance to a Senate Armed Services Committee aide.

Inhofe mentioned in a assertion that the briefing "confirmed" that the US "is now less safe than before Biden's disastrous decision to unconditionally and entirely withdraw from Afghanistan."