US Does Not Have Any Base Agreement With Neighboring Afghan Countries - Pentagon Official

US Does Not Have Any Base Agreement With Neighboring Afghan Countries - Pentagon Official

The United States does not have any base agreements with neighboring Afghan countries such as Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan that would give the US military the ability to immediately respond to any terrorist threat in Afghanistan, the Defense Department's acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs David Helvey said in a congressional hearing on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2021) The United States does not have any base agreements with neighboring Afghan countries such as Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan that would give the US military the ability to immediately respond to any terrorist threat in Afghanistan, the Defense Department's acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs David Helvey said in a congressional hearing on Wednesday.

"We do not have an agreement with any of those countries," Helvey told the House Armed Services Committee on a hearing about the future security situation in Afghanistan.

Helvey, without getting into detail, said the Defense Department is working all different options in coordination with the US State Department and Intelligence Community to establish arrangements that will give the United States access, basing and overflight necessary to address terrorism threats in Afghanistan.

On May 1, the United States and NATO began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of war that resulted in the deaths of over 2,300 US servicemen and the deaths and injuries of hundreds of thousands of Afghans. President Joe Biden vowed to complete the withdrawal by the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States that sparked the so-called "War on Terror" announced by then-President George W. Bush.

However, there is a fear that a US withdrawal in Afghanistan will reverse progress made to prevent the country from being a safe haven for terrorist groups such as al Qaeda (banned in Russia). In addition, the Taliban have increased attacks against Afghan security forces, concerning top US generals who say the level of violence is too high.

On Saturday, a car bomb went off outside the Sayed-ul-Shuhada school in a Shia-majority neighborhood in western Kabul followed by two more blasts. The attack claimed at least 63 lives and left over 150 wounded. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, several US officials have said there are some indications the attack may have been carried out by the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia).