Thread by @JJSchroden

Interest items on #Afghanistan from yesterday's #DOD presser w/@PentagonPresSec in this THREAD. 1/n

defense.gov/Newsroom/Trans…

.@SecDef spoke w/#Pakistan's COAS, Gen Bajwa, to discuss shared regional interests & objs. During the call, the sec reiterated his appreciation for PAK's spt for the #Afghanistan peace negotiations & expressed his desire to cont to build on the US-PAK bilateral relationship 2/n

Q: Getting back to #Pakistan, its Foreign Ministry put out a statement today ruling out the possibility of any US mil bases for the post-withdrawal from #Afghanistan #counterterrorism effort. Is there anything that the US is looking for right now from PAK... 3/n

...in terms of what happens after the withdrawal is complete and is there any update on other possible basing agreements in the region for doing #counterterrorism operations, once the Afghan withdrawal is done? 4/n

MR. KIRBY: I don't have any specific updates in terms of the potential for overseas basing there, after our withdrawal. These are obviously diplomatic discussions that are ongoing & are clearly not complete. We're exploring a range of options and opportunities... 5/n

...to be able to provide a credible & viable over-the-horizon #counterterrorism capability & there's lots of ways you can do that. Overseas basing is just 1 of them. So nothing to report on that front. & I certainly wouldn't speak to, in any greater detail, WRT any 1 country. 6/n

Again, the @SecDef's discussion this morning was very useful & dealt with a range of bilateral opportunities that our two countries have going forward. 7/n

Q: A follow up Q on #Pakistan. The previous admin had to stop all financial aid to PAK because the previous admin believed they were not cooperating in the fight against terrorism. Is this new admin reviewing that policy or has it -- where do you stand on that? 8/n

MR. KIRBY: At this time, U.S. security assistance to #Pakistan is still suspended, and I won't get into speculating one way or another about if or whether that will change going forward. 9/n

Q: General McKenzie is in the area making some statements & talked also to the press. Reporting a piece from our colleagues from @AP leaves us under the impression that a vacuum is coming. Is the US committed to the security and to help allies and partners in the area? 10/n

MR. KIRBY: Of course we are. & we've said this time and time again. Just because we are removing our troops & ending our mil mission in #Afghanistan doesn't mean that we're walking away from the region. Nothing could be further from the truth. 11/n

There's still going to be a robust US presence in the Middle East, in the @CENTCOM area of responsibility. I think what Gen McKenzie was referring to was just that we need to be aware of the potential for other nation-states, with our absence from #Afghanistan... 12/n

...what kind of actions they might take. But there's absolutely going to be no diminution of our commitment to our allies and partners in the region, none whatsoever. 13/n

Q: How many US troops are in #Afghanistan right now?

MR. KIRBY: We're not giving out exact numbers of our troops there as we cont this withdrawal.

Q: Well, can we ballpark it? Can we say, you know, half have left, anything like that? 14/n

MR. KIRBY: No, I'm really not able to do that. We're going to confine our assessments to the assessments that you see every Tuesday coming out of @CENTCOM. & I recognize that you would like more data. I do & frankly, so does Gen McKenzie and his staff. 15/n

But I hope you also recognize our need to be somewhat circumspect in terms of the amount of info that we give out, particularly on a weekly basis so as not to violate operational security, so as not to provide info that could actually put our people in harm's way. 16/n

I know you share our desire to make sure that doesn't happen. & as I told you last week, & I'll reiterate it again that as the retrograde, the withdrawal continues & the capabilities in #Afghanistan get progressively smaller, I would expect & you should expect that... 17/n

...the way we package the information and how much we give is also going to change, too, again, to make sure that we're not putting anybody in more harm's way than they already are. 18/n

Q: On #Pakistan you said that sec assistance still remains suspended. We have seen @SecDef & AMB Sutherland spoke to his counterparts in PAK. At least can you say that there is a discussion about the sec assistance to PAK to be resumed or is it on the table? 19/n

MR. KIRBY: I won't go beyond what I said in the question previous. 20/20