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The Islamic States affiliate in Afghanistan continues to thrive despite several U.S. and Afghan military efforts to annihilate the group, Pentagon Chief Spokeswoman Dana White told Voice of America Wednesday.

ISIS in Afghanistan has morphed from anascent band of militants in 2015 to a full fledged threat in the eastern province of Nangarhar.The group controls a relatively small amount of territory but has used it to launch multiple complex attacks on the capital city of Kabul, killing hundreds withits brutal tactics.

Several U.S. troops have died in Nangarhar province in recent months on missions targeting the terrorist group. The U.S. considered defeat of the insurgentssuch a priority it droppedthe largest non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal on ISISs cave network, killing approximately 100 fighters.

Its not getting better in Afghanistan in terms of ISIS. We have a problem, and we have to defeat them and we have to be focused on that problem, White declared. Whites statement contradicts the Pentagons recent report on the state of war in Afghanistan which claims that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) recent efforts as well as pressure from the Taliban, and a lack of support from the local populace have diminished ISIS-Ks influence and caused it to decline in size, capability, and ability to hold territory.

The report however admits that ISIS in Afghanistan remains a threat to security in Afghanistan and the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and a threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and ISIS-K retains the ability to conduct high-profile attacks in urban centers.

ISIS is just a small facet of the problem facing the U.S. and ANSF in the Afghan war. Taliban insurgents control more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the war began in 2001, and ANSF is suffering historic casualties.

President Donald Trump granted Secretary of Defense James Mattis authority June 13to set troop levels in Afghanistan. Mattis is likely to approve the request of both commanders in charge of the Afghan war, who have publicly testified before Congress that they believe a few thousand more troops are necessary to break the current stalemate.

The U.S. mission in Afghanistan focuses on training, advising, and assisting ANSF in the fight against the Taliban and ISIS. Both the U.S. and Afghan goal is to tire the Taliban and force it reconcile with the government. Mattis stressed before Congress that any troop increase would be paired with a broader regional strategy to bolster the reconciliation effort. The strategy has yet to be unveiled, and it may not come with the expected troop increase announcement.

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'We Have A Problem:' ISIS In Afghanistan 'Not Getting Better' As US Mulls Thousands More Troops - The Daily Caller

PENTAGON

The United States military has spilled its blood, spent immense amounts of cash and even dropped a munition called the Mother of All Bombs in an effort to root out Islamic States affiliate in Afghanistan.

But despite these efforts, the Islamic State-Khorasan problem in Afghanistan is not getting better, Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White told VOA Wednesday in her first sit-down, on-camera interview since joining the Pentagon team.

Its not getting better in Afghanistan in terms of ISIS. We have a problem, and we have to defeat them and we have to be focused on that problem, White said.

Watch: Pentagon Says Islamic State Problem 'Not Getting Better' in Afghanistan

U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is still reviewing what his commanders need on the ground in terms of the types of military forces and the number of those forces, according to White.

She added that Mattis intends to speak with his NATO counterparts in Brussels next week before finalizing his military plan, which some officials have said will likely include additional forces for counterterror operations against al-Qaida and ISIS-K.

Its very important to remember that that is within the context of a much broader strategy, and also understanding what are our partners willing to do, White said.

So far, the United States has shouldered responsibility for counterterrorism operations against ISIS-K and al-Qaida, while an international coalition has helped with a separate advise and assist mission to boost Afghan security force capabilities.

U.S. General John Nicholson, the top commander on the ground in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in February that he needs a few thousand more troops to complete his mission of supporting Afghan forces.

He said at the time that he felt he had adequate resources for the counterterror mission, but that was before ISIS-Ks recent expansion into the caves of Tora Bora in Nangahar province and its increase in attacks in northern Afghanistans Jowzjan province.

President Donald Trump authorized Mattis to increase the military presence in Afghanistan earlier this month. The defense secretary has promised lawmakers a new strategy by mid-July.

Three American service members based in eastern Afghanistan were killed in April during operations targeting Islamic State militants, according to the Pentagon.

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Pentagon: Islamic State Problem 'Not Getting Better' in Afghanistan - Voice of America

After a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Doc Todd suffered from PTSD. With his new album Combat Medicine, he hopes to show other veterans that they're not alone. ZoomWorks Photography/Courtesy of Doc Todd hide caption

After a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Doc Todd suffered from PTSD. With his new album Combat Medicine, he hopes to show other veterans that they're not alone.

There is no one sure way to reach combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or substance abuse. But a new hip-hop album called Combat Medicine, released Wednesday, might help. It was written and performed by George "Mik" Todd, who goes by the name Doc Todd. He's a former Fleet Marine Force corpsman essentially a combat medic who served alongside the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan.

Todd's style is tough and direct in a way that only one veteran can be to another. In the song "Not Alone," he urges veterans to take action in their own recovery.

Take those bottles out, dog

and pour 'em in the sink.

Take the needles out of your arm

And the gun away from your forehead.

It's time, man.

You've been through enough pain.

Stand up.

It's time to stand back up.

Todd says the song is about empowerment, "about taking charge of your life, taking charge of your transition" from the combat zone to civilian life.

In his own transition, Doc Todd went through many of the issues other veterans face: shame, isolation, self-abuse. For Todd, it began in 2009 after he was in a large and dangerous battle in Afghanistan. Many of his friends were seriously wounded. His roommate was killed. Todd was medically evacuated to Germany after he fell seriously ill with pneumonia.

"That tore me up so bad, because I felt like I was alienated from the guys I served with," Todd recalls. "I felt like there was an asterisk next to my deployment. I felt like it would've been better if I got shot because that would've been more heroic."

George "Mik" Todd seen here in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in July 2009. He served with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. Courtesy of Doc Todd hide caption

George "Mik" Todd seen here in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in July 2009. He served with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines.

Todd says it took him several years before he got help for his PTSD. He was depressed and started drinking heavily. Eventually, he realized what he needed to be doing was helping other veterans. With savings from his job as a money manager and help from his wife, he was able to quit his job. He'd been making music since he was a teenager. Now, he wanted to use his music to help veterans heal. And he had plenty of material for his lyrics.

The struggle is real

Found a feast

And lost a soul

Eventually my drinking

It got out of control

There in darkness, I roamed

Struggling to find home

See Suddenly death didn't

Feel so Alone

In the video for "Not Alone," a young veteran gets out of bed and immediately reaches for the bottle. That scenario is all too real, says former Marine Zach Ludwig who served with Todd in Afghanistan and is now working through his own PTSD.

"He knows what to say and how to say it," Ludwig says, pointing to Todd's combat experience. "What the man says is just blunt force truth."

Todd says facing the truth, no matter how difficult, can do more to help veterans than "coddling" them. His mission with Combat Medicine is to show vets they're not alone and to urge them to get help.

"We have to be responsible for empowering our own lives. And it doesn't really help when the overwhelming narrative is victimization and brokenness," he says.

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Combat Veteran Fights PTSD Through Hip-Hop : Shots - Health ... - NPR

The tests are not prohibited under the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers, which eased economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for its verifiable promises of peaceful nuclear work.

But Security Council Resolution 2231, which put the agreement into effect, called on Iran not to test ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

When Iran conducted missile tests in March 2016, critics led by the United States and Israel were infuriated, calling the countrys behavior a violation of the Security Council resolution and a sign that it would not honor provisions of the nuclear accord. Iran rejected the accusation.

In a report to the Security Council last July on compliance with Resolution 2231, Ban Ki-moon, then the secretary general, said he was concerned that the missile tests might not be consistent with the constructive spirit demonstrated by the nuclear accord. He called on Iran to refrain from conducting such launches, given that they have the potential to increase tensions in the region.

Mr. Guterress report, his first on Irans compliance with the resolution, also called on the country to refrain from missile tests. But it did not echo Mr. Bans broader concerns about them.

A spokesman for Mr. Guterres, Stphane Dujarric, did not immediately respond to a query about the difference.

Iran has long contended that the missiles are its defensive bulwark in an increasingly hostile region. Since it has already promised not to make nuclear weapons, its leaders have said, the missiles by definition cannot carry them. Iran has also argued that Resolution 2231s language does not ban missile tests.

Some disarmament experts suggested that Mr. Guterress report decreased the possibility of United Nations penalties against Iran over its missile development.

Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, a Washington-based group, said the difference between Mr. Bans and Mr. Guterress reports was subtle.

Mr. Guterres may have adjusted the language in the report out of recognition that further sanctions of Iranian entities tied to missile development or production will not likely succeed in reducing, or even slowing, Irans ballistic missile program, Mr. Kimball said.

Sanctions intended as punishment for missile tests, he said, could even strengthen hard-liners in Iran who want to accelerate the program in response to U.S. pressure.

A version of this article appears in print on June 22, 2017, on Page A11 of the New York edition with the headline: U.N. Leader Softens Predecessors Criticism of Iran Missile Tests.

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UN Leader Softens His Predecessor's Criticism of Iran Missile Tests - New York Times

House Speaker Paul Ryan addressed the Senate Republicans plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act today, including sanctions against Iran and Russia. Watch his remarks in the player above.

WASHINGTON House Speaker Paul Ryan is expressing support for a popular bill to hit Iran and Russia with sanctions. He says work is underway to resolve a procedural snag.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, the Wisconsin Republican says we want to get moving on the sanctions bill.

The measure was written by the Senate, where it passed last week on a 98-2 vote. Now the House must act.

At issue is a constitutional requirement that requires legislation involving revenue to come from the House.

Ryan says the House Foreign Affairs Committee is examining the legislation to make sure that the bill is written the right way.

Democrats have accused Republicans of stalling the bill at the behest of the Trump administration, which they say wants it weakened.

WATCH: What we learned from GOP victories in Georgia and South Carolina

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WATCH: Ryan says House wants to move on Iran, Russia sanctions bill - PBS NewsHour