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Since U.S. President Joe Biden announced on April 14 that the United States would fully withdraw from Afghanistan by September 2021, there has beendiscussion among regional observers and, according to reports, among diplomats about the possible staging of U.S. forces just over the horizon from Afghanistan.
The Taliban made clear in a statement on May 26 that it would not accept U.S. forces based in countries near Afghanistan.
In his April 14 remarks, Biden stressed that the administration would “not take our eye off the terrorist threat” and would “reorganize our counterterrorism capabilities and the substantial assets in the region to prevent reemergence of terrorists of the threat to our homeland from over the horizon.”
Drones drop explosives near US bases in Iraq Washington believes the attack was undertaken by Iran-backed militias 15 April 2021 - 13:12 Ali Sultan and Amina Ismail Picture: 123RF/vadimmmus
Erbil A drone dropped explosives near US forces stationed at Erbil airport in northern Iraq late on Wednesday, Kurdish officials said, with no immediate reports of casualties.
A separate rocket attack killed a Turkish soldier at a military base nearby, the Turkish defence ministry said.
It was the first known attack carried out by an unmanned aerial drone against US forces in Erbil, amid a steady stream of rocket attacks on bases hosting US forces and the embassy in Baghdad that Washington blames on Iran-backed militias.
Mar 8, 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden is ticking off his administration’s to-do list for shoring up America’s alliances in Asia.
On Sunday, the U.S. State Department announced that Washington and Seoul had reached a tentative deal on a “meaningful increase” in cost-sharing for hosting American troops in South Korea, less than a month after concluding a one-year deal with Japan.
The breakthrough was expected to impact ongoing U.S. talks on a longer-term agreement with Tokyo.
Known as a “Special Measures Agreement” (SMA), the deal announced Sunday is expected to be for multiple years and will replace the previous arrangement that expired at the end of 2019 under then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he wants the U.S. to pay to keep a two-decade-old pact that facilitates joint military exercises, an agreement wh