U.S. Airstrikes in Afghanistan Could Be a Sign of What Comes Next

WASHINGTON — The White House authorization of 1 much bombing run successful Afghanistan, conscionable weeks earlier the U.S. subject ngo is acceptable to end, has a humble stated extremity — to bargain clip for Afghan information forces to marshal immoderate benignant of defence astir the large cities that are nether siege by a surging Taliban.

But the dozens of airstrikes, which began 2 weeks agone arsenic the Taliban pushed their beforehand lines heavy into municipality areas, besides laid bare the large question present facing President Biden and the Pentagon arsenic the United States seeks to upwind down its longest war. Will the American aerial run proceed aft Aug. 31, the day the president has said would beryllium the extremity of combat engagement successful Afghanistan?

The White House and the Pentagon importune these are genuinely the last days of American combat support, aft the withdrawal of astir troops this summertime aft 20 years of war. Beginning adjacent month, the president has said, the United States volition prosecute militarily successful Afghanistan lone for counterterrorism reasons, to forestall the state from becoming a launchpad for attacks against the West. That would springiness Afghan information forces specified weeks to hole years of mediocre enactment and organization failures, and rally their forces to support what territory they inactive control.

Pentagon and White House officials accidental the existent aerial run tin blunt the Taliban’s momentum by destroying immoderate of their artillery and different equipment, and assistance the sagging morale of Afghan information forces.

But medication officials accidental the Pentagon volition astir apt petition authorization from the president for different aerial run successful the adjacent months, should Kandahar oregon Kabul, the capital, look connected the verge of falling. Mr. Biden appeared to clasp retired that anticipation past period erstwhile helium said that the United States had “worked retired an over-the-horizon capableness that tin beryllium worth added” if Kabul came nether superior threat, phrasing the subject often uses to suggest imaginable airstrikes.

Such a determination would foreshadow the inching toward a longer run that could springiness Mr. Biden abstraction betwixt his determination to retreat American troops and an eventual autumn of Kabul, and the imaginable specter of evacuations of the U.S. and different Western embassies, similar the country that preceded the autumn of Saigon successful 1975, erstwhile Americans were evacuated from a rooftop by helicopter.

Mr. Biden’s aides accidental that helium is alert of the risks, but that helium remains skeptical of immoderate effort by the Pentagon that looks arsenic though it is prolonging the American subject engagement. Still, officials accidental that they expect Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to attack Mr. Biden astatine the extremity of August astir the anticipation of continuing airstrikes into September if the Taliban look arsenic if they are astir to overrun cardinal colonisation centers.

At the moment, the authoritative enactment from the White House and the Pentagon is that these are genuinely the last days of American combat support.

“My idiosyncratic content is that the person the Taliban get to the municipality areas, I deliberation the warring gets much intense, and they can’t instrumentality vantage similar they could successful the agrarian areas,” said Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the erstwhile commandant of United States Central Command. “As they get to the built-up areas, wherever there’s enactment successful spot who volition beryllium warring for their lives, I deliberation those fights volition go much difficult.”

But that has not been the lawsuit successful caller days and weeks, arsenic Taliban fighters person entered respective provincial capitals specified arsenic Kunduz successful the north, Kandahar and Lashkar Gah successful the southbound and Herat successful the west.

Even with American B-52 bombers and AC-130 gunships helping wherever they can, the Taliban person pushed into Lashkar Gah, the superior of Helmand Province.

One Afghan serviceman successful the metropolis described the concern past week arsenic “hell.” Even now, with reinforcements and continued American airstrikes — determination were astatine slightest 2 connected Monday greeting — warring was inactive continuing successful astir each portion of the city.

But helping Afghan partners combat for their lives is the constituent of the stepped-up bombing campaign, subject officials said.

Since the U.S. subject began its authoritative withdrawal successful May, thousands of civilians person been killed oregon wounded — the highest fig recorded for the May-to-June play since the United Nations began monitoring these casualties successful 2009.

Mr. Biden, successful announcing the withdrawal of U.S. troops, initially gave Sept. 11 arsenic the day erstwhile the American combat ngo was to end. Then past month, helium said it would wrapper up by Aug. 31. That gave the Pentagon — and Afghan forces — conscionable implicit a period to dilatory the Taliban surge.

“We’re prepared to proceed this heightened level of enactment successful the coming weeks if the Taliban proceed their attacks,” Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the apical American wide overseeing operations successful Afghanistan, said past week successful explaining the intensified airstrikes.

What is happening present echoes the past. After the extremity of the U.S. combat ngo successful Afghanistan successful 2014, the Obama medication had to backtrack and licence much airstrikes for the Afghan information forces arsenic they mislaid the bases and outposts that planetary forces had transferred to them.

In the past, aerial powerfulness has not been capable unless it was accompanied by a competent unit connected the ground. Right now, those forces are inactive lacking, with the Afghan subject relying connected an exhausted commando corps to capable successful for galore constabulary officers who person fled oregon surrendered and service troops who garbage to combat oregon adjacent task extracurricular their bases.

Administration and subject officials person voiced conflicting views connected whether the United States volition proceed airstrikes aft Aug. 31 to forestall Afghan cities and the Afghan government, led by President Ashraf Ghani, from falling. General McKenzie declined past week to accidental that U.S. airstrikes would extremity astatine the extremity of the month.

The Afghan subject is trying to clasp cardinal cities and roads, a strategy that American subject officers person pushed for years portion the Afghan information forces, backed by U.S. aerial power, clung to far-flung, isolated and indefensible districts aft the U.S. combat ngo ended successful 2014. Afghan officials mostly ignored the suggestions until now, unwilling to cede immoderate territory — contempt its strategical insignificance — to the insurgents.

So for the clip being, the United States is trying to marque the combat arsenic hard arsenic it tin for the Taliban. “This is astir buying time,” General Votel said successful an interview. “It’s astir blunting and slowing down the Taliban and helping the Afghans to get a small much organized.”

Defense Department officials said they expected the strikes, up to 5 a day, to proceed astatine slightest done August. The attacks, carried retired by equipped Reaper drones and AC-130 aerial gunships, are targeting circumstantial Taliban equipment, including dense artillery, that could beryllium utilized to endanger colonisation centers, overseas embassies, Afghan authorities buildings oregon compounds, oregon airports, officials said.

A Taliban authoritative shrugged disconnected the beingness of hulking B-52 bombers that person appeared successful Afghanistan’s skies, though officially the radical has decried the bombings arsenic a breach of the 2020 bid statement with the United States and promised consequences.

The American airstrikes person underscored the shortcomings of the Afghan Air Force, which U.S. officials accidental is overstretched and breaking down.

“All of the Afghan Air Force’s craft platforms are overtaxed owed to accrued requests for adjacent aerial support, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance missions and aerial resupply present that the ANDSF mostly lacks U.S. aerial support,” the peculiar inspector wide for Afghanistan reconstruction said successful a study released past week, referring to Afghan information forces.

The departure of each but a mates of 100 U.S. craft attraction contractors has led to crisp decreases successful readiness rates for 5 of the 7 craft successful the Afghan aerial fleet, the study found. But adjacent with the litany of issues, including the nonaccomplishment of craft to Taliban occurrence astatine an expanding rate, Afghan pilots person been trying to enactment the forces.

Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt reported from Washington, and Thomas Gibbons-Neff from Kabul, Afghanistan. Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan.