The highest officials within the Department of Defense expressed wariness about a continued relationship with the Taliban following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Both Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said during a Wednesday press conference at the Pentagon that although the two sides worked together to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport and evacuate more than 120,000 people in August, it was not necessarily indicative of a continued relationship now that the United States has withdrawn all of its troops.