\u201cWe will look to continue funding key capabilities such as the Afghan Air Force and Special Mission Wing, and we will seek to continue paying salaries for Afghan Security Forces,\u201d Austin said at a NATO press conference in Brussels.<\/a> \u201cWe will also work closely with them and with our allies to maintain counterterrorism capabilities in the region,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI think you\u2019ll understand why I won\u2019t get into specific details about where our counterterrorist assets may be positioned,\u201d Austin said when asked where counterterrorism troops could be deployed in the region. \u201cIn terms of our ability to acquire targets and engage them in places where we are not \u2026 We have the reach and the ability to in fact do that,\u201d he said, suggesting the US wants to maintain the capability to bomb Afghanistan.<\/p>\n The New York Times<\/em> reported on Thursday<\/a> on how the US is planning to continue fighting in Afghanistan \u201cfrom afar.\u201d The report reads: \u201cThe Pentagon, American spy agencies and Western allies are refining plans to deploy a less visible but still potent force in the region to prevent the country from again becoming a terrorist base.\u201d Unnamed US officials speaking to the Times<\/em> floated neighboring Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as possible locations to reposition forces from Afghanistan.<\/p>\n When asked if Biden plans to leave special operations forces in Afghanistan after his new September 11th withdrawal deadline, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declined to comment.<\/a> \u201cI\u2019m obviously not going to get into operational specifics from the podium,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lloyd-Austin.jpg\")
<\/a>