Pentagon Plans to Require U.S. Navy to Provide Launching Ground for Airstrikes in Afghanistan

The ground war in Afghanistan is over. Now it’s the U.S. Navy’s turn. The Pentagon is reportedly drawing up plans to shift the military involvement in Afghanistan onto the U.S. Navy, which will likely be called on to deploy more aircraft carriers to the Middle East to provide launching ground for “over the horizon” airstrikes. The withdrawal of American army troops from Afghanistan, which was completed in a chaotic fashion a day before the August 31 deadline, means the United States now has limited options to launch airstrikes on Afghan soil. The lack of U.S.-controlled airfields near Afghanistan has prompted…