WASHINGTON: The chief Taliban negotiator has been recalled to Washington and the US is not withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, announced the Trump administration on Monday amid threats by the Taliban to inflict more losses. However, there was also an indication from the US government that the process of reconciliation with the Taliban would continue. […]

DefenceTalkKabul: US forces could leave Afghanistan within five years under a Pentagon plan being offered as part of a potential deal with the Taliban to end the nearly 18-year war, the New York Times has reported. Negotiations are believed to be progressing after high-level talks last month ended with a “draft framework” on potential US […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-could-withdraw-troops-from-afghanistan-within-five-years-nyt-72161/

DefenceTalkDefense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday that the US military is adjusting tactics in Afghanistan as the Taliban continue to inflict heavy casualties on local forces. The Taliban are killing hundreds of Afghan army and police forces each month. The New York Times said the death toll is making it harder to recruit new soldiers. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-adjusts-tactics-as-afghan-army-toll-rises-mattis-71876/

DefenceTalkAfghan Special Security Forces, advised by U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers assigned to NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan, captured a major Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) stronghold in eastern Afghanistan in June 2018, effectively depriving the terror group of its local capital in one of the largest joint operations ever conducted between U.S. and Afghan special operations […]https://www.defencetalk.com/special-forces-soldiers-help-afghan-forces-defeat-isis-in-eastern-afghanistan-71799/

DefenceTalkThe Defense Department provided to the Congress its semiannual report titled “Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan” on Tuesday. Covering events from Dec. 1 to May 31, the report was submitted in accordance with requirements in Section 1225 of the Fiscal 2015 National Defense Authorization Act as amended by Sections 1231 and 1531 of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-releases-report-on-enhancing-security-stability-in-afghanistan-71726/

DefenceTalkHERAT, Afghanistan: Afghan aircraft Tuesday bombed Taliban positions in the western city of Farah after the insurgents launched a major attempt to capture the provincial capital, with fearful residents seeking shelter from explosions and gunfire. The attack – the first major assault targeting a city since the Taliban launched their annual spring offensive – began […]https://www.defencetalk.com/heavy-fighting-as-taliban-attack-western-afghan-city-71683/

DefenceTalkBased on military progress in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command is undertaking an operational alignment and rebalancing effort to achieve three specific goals, CENTCOM commander Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel told the House Armed Services Committee yesterday. However, the commander said, “We remain very clear-eyed regarding […]https://www.defencetalk.com/centcom-undertaking-realignment-to-meet-defeat-future-threats-71521/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon pledged Monday to be as transparent as possible about how many troops are deployed overseas, after an agency published figures that diverge significantly from official counts. According to a quarterly report from the Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data Center, as of September 30 the US military had 15,298 troops in Afghanistan, 8,892 in Iraq […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-report-shows-thousands-more-us-troops-deployed-overseas-70866/

DefenceTalkApproximately 3,000 additional American troops have now deployed to Afghanistan under President Donald Trump’s revised strategy for the war-torn country, the Pentagon said Thursday. The Pentagon had previously put the number of US forces in Afghanistan at about 11,000 but Trump in August authorized an increase requested by the commander on the ground, General John […]https://www.defencetalk.com/thousands-more-us-troops-arrive-in-afghanistan-general-70831/

DefenceTalkDefence Ministers agreed today (9 November 2017) to increase the size of NATO’s Resolute Support training mission in Afghanistan from around 13,000 to roughly 16,000 personnel. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement at the end of a two-day meeting of the alliance’s Defence Ministers in Brussels. Mr Stoltenberg welcomed the fact that “Afghan […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-ministers-agree-to-adapt-command-structure-boost-afghanistan-troop-levels-70772/