Today's D Brief: Afghanistan's future; SecDef, lawmakers spar over racism study; Marines rethink battalions; Guardsmen go hungry; And a bit more.
Ben Watson | June 24, 2021 10:52 AM ET
79 days. That’s how long America’s military has left in Afghanistan, as long as there are no significant changes to the Sept. 11 withdrawal deadline set by U.S. President Joe Biden — the second president to win office on the promise of removing America from its “forever wars.” And the Afghanistan war is America’s longest at 19 years, 8 months and 18 days since it officially began on Oct. 7, 2001.
Another concerning number: 180 days. That’s about how long a new U.S. intelligence estimate suggests Afghanistan’s government will stand before collapsing, perhaps as early as March 2022, according to the Wall Street Journal reporting Wednesday. And that’s a stark revision from the previous known U.S. intelligence estimate of two years.
Those things are surely on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s mind for his two-day trip to the U.S., which began today with a direct flight to Washington from Kabul. (Arrival photo via Tolo News) On Friday Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, will join Ghani and Biden at the White House.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/06/the-d-brief-june-24-2021/174934/
