U.S. Navy aircraft carriers likely to remain in the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf to patrol Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern hotspots

AP

Politico - 

The American military’s involvement in Afghanistan could soon become largely the Navy’s responsibility, an ironic twist for a counterterrorism mission in a landlocked country.

Although the Navy has long privately bristled at the requirement to deploy one or even two aircraft carriers at a time to the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf to support the ground fights in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, the lack of U.S.-controlled airfields near Afghanistan could mean more planes taking off from decks at sea.

And that could set off a fresh round of requests for more funding — and more hand-wringing among those who want the U.S. military to focus more on China.

“I think a lot of that mission is going to fall on the Navy,” said a Navy official who requested to speak on the condition of anonymity because the Pentagon’s plans have yet to be finalized. “This is a great example of why we need more money to operate forward — things like this are what we’re built to do, but we need the funding and support to keep doing it, and that hasn’t always been there.” (Read more)

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The inevitable fallout of U.S. and NATO troops withdrawing from Afghanistan

Photo: Getty Images

Jihadis are emboldened and conflagration is about to overtake the region. - 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Taliban’s blitz of Afghan territory expanded on Wednesday, with the insurgents asserting control over nine of the country’s 34 provincial capitals.

Afghan and U.S. officials have warned of catastrophic violence in the war-torn country of 39 million as the deadline approaches for all U.S. troops to withdraw by the end of August.

Nader Nadery, a senior member of the Afghan Peace Negotiation Team, expressed grave concern over the rapidly worsening situation while speaking to CNBC on Wednesday.

“If the Taliban advances militarily, the region will be burned. This war will not be contained within the borders of Afghanistan,” Nadery told CNBC.

Asked what he saw as the most immediate danger to the international community, Nadery, who lived through decades of turmoil in Afghanistan, described a potential swell in terrorist activity far beyond the country fueled by a sense of victory over Western forces. (Read more)

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