The Pentagon

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday the withdrawal of all United States troops from Afghanistan by September 11, after two decades of fighting militants. The US would miss a May deadline for a pull-out agreed with the Trump administration's Taliban last year.

"It's time to end this forever war," said Biden.

The U.S. will not withdraw troops from Germany for now. In a keynote speech to diplomats Thursday, new U.S. President Joe Biden said he had halted his predecessor Donald Trump's plans for such a withdrawal. First, he said, the Pentagon should review the deployment of American troops worldwide. This must be consistent with Washington's foreign policy and strategic priorities, Biden said.

All 25,000 National Guard troops tasked with securing the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on January 20 are being vetted by the Pentagon and the FBI amid fears of a coordinated insider attack.

"This type of vetting often takes place by law enforcement for significant security events. However, in this case the scope of military participation is unique. The DC National Guard is also providing additional training to service members as they arrive in DC that if they see or hear something that is not appropriate, they should report it to their chain of command," so Christopher Miller, the acting defence secretary.

An American abducted in Niger on Monday and taken to Nigeria has been rescued by the US Navy's elite SEAL Team 6.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman: "U.S. forces conducted a hostage rescue operation during the early hours of 31 October in Northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men. This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State. No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation."

One E-6B Mercury plane has been launched on each the west and the east of the American coasts shortly before President Donald Trump announced that he has been tested positive for Covid-19.

The planes are airborne nuclear command posts for the Pentagon that carry special communication systems and crews that command the nuclear ballistic-missile submarine fleet of the United States.

Tim Hogan, an open-source intelligence practitioner from the United States has tweeted that he "would expect them to pup up if he [Trump] tests positive". The airplanes could be tracked via public software only because the military crews did not turn off the transponders.

The Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has formally announced the decision of the Pentagon to withdraw around 11,900 troops from Germany.

According to US defence officials the relocation of the troops will take years and Esper has acknowledged that it will cost billions to execute. Around 6,400 troops will return to the United States while around 5,400 troops will stay in Europe according to the plans of the Pentagon.