{"id":36447,"date":"2021-04-21T00:05:52","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T00:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:43:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:43:44","slug":"us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 The top U.S. commander in the Mideast told lawmakers Tuesday some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/14\/biden-says-keeping-us-troops-in-afghanistan-past-this-summer-makes-no-sense-to-me\/\" target=_blank>troops exiting Afghanistan<\/a> will stay in the region for counter-terror operations and suggested that some could be a \u201clever\u201d against Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked how the thousands of troops and billions of dollars dedicated to the fight would be reallocated, Gen. Kenneth \u201cFrank\u201d McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, said some of those forces could be part of \u201coff-shore\u201d and \u201cover-the-horizon\u201d missions into Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CENTCOM\u2019s detailed planning is due to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin by May, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs our forces come out and we\u2019re ready to re-posture, we have to look at what we define as the pacing threats for the department, and I think we looked at China, we looked at Russia, and we have to look at those areas,\u201d McKenzie told the House Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBroadly, I think it\u2019s going to be a significant lever for the [Defense] Department to apply against the most significant challenges that we face today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comments come as President Joe Biden has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/breaking-news\/2021\/04\/09\/biden-requests-715b-for-pentagon-hinting-at-administrations-future-priorities\/\" target=_blank>proposed a fiscal 2022 defense budget that\u2019s roughly flat<\/a>, which has sparked a partisan fight in Congress over defense spending and fueled questions of how he will fund new defense priorities. Biden announced last week that the U.S. withdrawal would start May 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/04\/15\/bidens-afghanistan-pullout-gets-mixed-reaction-in-congress\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6106605.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Biden\u2019s Afghanistan pullout gets mixed reaction in Congress<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Mostly Republican critics warn Afghanistan would again become a launchpad for terror attacks.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though there\u2019s a range of estimates, HASC Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., said there were 3,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and that the U.S. presence cost $14 billion last year. A separate analysis from defense consultant Jim McAleese instead sees $21 billion dedicated to \u201cdirect-combat-requirements,\u201d in various accounts that could, after the U.S. pullout, be used for \u201cunder-resourced missions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an exchange with House Seapower Subcommittee Chairman Joe Courtney, D-Conn., on Tuesday, McKenzie said the force posture for counter-terror missions in Afghanistan was yet to be determined, but he said hunting targets would require \u201cheavy intelligence support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How to hit those targets, with long-range precision fires, manned raids or manned aircraft, is a part of the deliberations. A coming inability to launch an American MQ-9 Reaper from inside Afghanistan is a complication, McKenzie said, but not an insurmountable one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s unclear what country or countries would agree to host U.S. forces and their weapons. If they\u2019re far away, there would be \u201ca significant bill\u201d associated with moving them in and out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you leave Afghanistan and you want to go back in to conduct these kinds of operations, there are three things you need to do: you need to find the target, you need to fix the target, and you need to be able to finish the target,\u201d McKenzie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe first two require heavy intelligence support. If you\u2019re out of the country, and you don\u2019t have the ecosystem that we have there now, it will be harder to do that. It is not impossible to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The top U.S. commander in the Mideast told lawmakers Tuesday some troops exiting Afghanistan will stay in the region for counter-terror operations and suggested some could be a \u201clever\u201d against Russia and China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":55233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":68,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,23,93,12,25,68,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3380],"class_list":["post-36447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WDAE6TFDXVFZLFI3IAWD2BI2WI","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2021\/04\/20\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The top U.S. commander in the Mideast told lawmakers Tuesday some troops exiting Afghanistan will stay in the region for counter-terror operations and suggested some could be a \u201clever\u201d against Russia and China.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The top U.S. commander in the Mideast told lawmakers Tuesday some troops exiting Afghanistan will stay in the region for counter-terror operations and suggested some could be a \u201clever\u201d against Russia and China.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-21T00:05:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T22:43:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joe Gould\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joe Gould\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-04-21T00:05:52+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T22:43:44+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 499,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1184482763.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\",\n\t                \"Your Army\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress - Army Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1184482763.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-04-21T00:05:52+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T22:43:44+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The top U.S. commander in the Mideast told lawmakers Tuesday some troops exiting Afghanistan will stay in the region for counter-terror operations and suggested some could be a \u201clever\u201d against Russia and China.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1184482763.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1184482763.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/21\\\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/pentagon-congress\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"pentagon-congress\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress - Army Times","description":"The top U.S. commander in the Mideast told lawmakers Tuesday some troops exiting Afghanistan will stay in the region for counter-terror operations and suggested some could be a \u201clever\u201d against Russia and China.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress","og_description":"The top U.S. commander in the Mideast told lawmakers Tuesday some troops exiting Afghanistan will stay in the region for counter-terror operations and suggested some could be a \u201clever\u201d against Russia and China.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2021-04-21T00:05:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T22:43:44+00:00","author":"Joe Gould","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joe Gould","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress","datePublished":"2021-04-21T00:05:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T22:43:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/"},"wordCount":499,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1184482763.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters","Pentagon &amp; Congress","Your Army"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/","name":"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1184482763.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2021-04-21T00:05:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T22:43:44+00:00","description":"The top U.S. commander in the Mideast told lawmakers Tuesday some troops exiting Afghanistan will stay in the region for counter-terror operations and suggested some could be a \u201clever\u201d against Russia and China.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1184482763.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1184482763.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/04\/21\/us-troops-dollars-exiting-afghanistan-could-fight-terror-top-commander-tells-congress\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Pentagon &amp; Congress","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/","ad_zone":"pentagon-congress"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"US troops, dollars exiting Afghanistan could fight terror, top commander tells Congress"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1184482763.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36447"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90626,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36447\/revisions\/90626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36447"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=36447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}