The Pentagon mission changes in Afghanistan and Iraq……

We hear of US airstrikes In Afghanistan?

The U.S. military carried out two strikes against the Taliban Thursday night, which targeted captured equipment, multiple defense officials said, according to CNN.

The two strikes were in support of the Afghan forces in Kandahar province.

In the final phases before the U.S. withdraws from Afganistan, the U.S. military has maintained the ability to carry out missile strikes supporting Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). However, the strikes have come far and few between in recent weeks…

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We hear of different mixture of troops in Iraq and commitment to stay in that country….

Of course Iraq is an entirely different military situation…

ISIS is not the Taliban…..

Under the plan, which the people stressed will not constitute a withdrawal of American forces from the country, a number of U.S. service members will remain in Iraq indefinitely. These troops will provide logistics and advisory support, as well as air power, intelligence and surveillance capability in the fight against the Islamic State, which this week claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Baghdad that left dozens dead.

The announcement will mark the culmination of a number of strategic dialogues between Iraq and U.S. officials over the American military presence in Iraq over the last few years, the person said. While the overall numbers likely won’t change much — there are roughly 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq today — the remaining combat forces will likely redeploy, replaced with personnel focused on the advisory mission, between now and the end of the year.

The change, which is being discussed as U.S. and Iraqi officials met Thursday at the Pentagon, will mark yet another shift for the U.S. military presence in Iraq, where the United States has deployed troops for most of the last 18 years.

Kadhimi previewed the announcement in a recent interview, saying that Iraq no longer has a need for U.S. combat troops.

“Iraqis are now ready to stand up on their feet and protect themselves. We are no longer in need of U.S. combat troops,” Kadhimi told Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. “At the same time, we will continue to need intelligence support, training, capacity building and advice.”…

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