U.S. Central Command’s top general says the American military will not relinquish its ability to strike terrorist threats in Afghanistan even as the last U.S. troops prepare to depart the country, warning adversaries across the region not to mistake withdrawal for disengagement. In an exclusive interview with Military Times, Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, outlined how the Pentagon intends to preserve its counterterrorism reach through what officials are calling an “over-the-horizon” capability — the ability to surveil and strike targets inside Afghanistan from bases and assets outside the country. The approach represents one of the most consequential operational shifts in CENTCOM’s recent history, and it carries significant implications for how the United States postures itself across a vast theater spanning the Middle East and South Asia. Similar questions about projecting power from a reduced footprint have also come to the fore in Africa, where, as AFRICOM operations have shown, the U.S. military has wrestled with maintaining pressure on extremist networks after pulling back ground forces.

Over the Horizon, Not Out of the Fight

McKenzie acknowledged in the interview that the withdrawal — proceeding in accordance with President Biden’s directive to complete the pullout by September 11, 2021 — would fundamentally change how American forces operate against groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State Khorasan Province. But he pushed back firmly against any suggestion that departure equals abandonment of the counterterrorism mission. The general emphasized that the United States retains the intelligence infrastructure, aerial assets, and strike capacity to act against threats that emerge inside Afghanistan, even without a permanent ground presence.

He declined to detail the precise locations from which over-the-horizon operations would be staged, citing operational security, but confirmed that CENTCOM was actively working to identify and secure the access and basing agreements necessary to make the concept credible. The challenge is logistical and diplomatic in equal measure: Afghanistan is landlocked, and neighboring countries have historically been reluctant to host U.S. forces for missions tied directly to Afghan operations. McKenzie indicated the command was pursuing solutions but offered no specifics on which nations were engaged or what access arrangements, if any, had been finalized.

Taliban Warning and Regional Adversaries

McKenzie also used the interview to deliver a pointed message to the Taliban, which had been advancing rapidly across Afghan districts as the withdrawal accelerated. He said the United States would continue to support Afghan national security forces with air support and other assistance through the end of the official withdrawal timeline, and that any Taliban interference with U.S. forces during that drawdown would be met with force. His remarks came as Afghan government troops faced mounting battlefield pressure across multiple provinces, and as American officials publicly and privately debated whether Kabul could hold following the U.S. departure.

Beyond Afghanistan, McKenzie addressed the broader competitive landscape across the CENTCOM area of responsibility, pointing to Iran as a persistent and serious threat — one the command was monitoring closely across multiple domains, including ballistic missiles, proxy forces, and maritime activities in the Persian Gulf. He also noted that the draw-down in Afghanistan should not be read as a reduction in American commitment to partners across the region. The pivot to over-the-horizon operations, if successfully implemented, would test the boundaries of what modern drone and electronic capabilities can accomplish in the absence of forward ground presence — a question that will define American power projection doctrine for years to come.