Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday said the US military has already begun so-called over the horizon capabilities for operations in Afghanistan, which is Pentagon jargon for spying on and bombing the country from outside its borders. Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee that combat and surveillance missions are being conducted in Afghanistan by aircraft that were either launched from aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf or from airbases that are located in Gulf nations. [Unclear against whom (vs the Taliban or vs ISIS) since there is supposed to be a US-Taliban ceasefire but which has been repeatedly broken by the US.]
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the vast majority of MQ-9 Reaper drone missions inside Afghanistan are being flown from outside the country.