Nicholson earned praise from lawmakers on both sides of the committee after he was nominated by Obama to take over as the commander of US and allied troops when Gen. John Campbell’s tour of duty ends. Campbell told the committee that most of the problems facing the Afghan security forces stem from poor leadership.
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The senior US military commander in Afghanistan told Congress on Thursday that training for Afghan forces would be severely constrained if the number of American troops there was cut to 5,500, as President Barack Obama has proposed.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and a member of the Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday that a reduction would do more than undercut the training mission. John McCain of Arizona, and other senators over the wisdom of the troop reductions.
“It (the long-term United States commitment) sends a message to Pakistan, it sends a message to the Taliban, and it sends a message to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation”, said General John Campbell, the outgoing commander of the USA forces in Afghanistan.
“I believe the right thing to do is to prepare to go to 5,500 as I am ordered”, he said, though he noted that he would prefer additional troop pull-outs to be “conditions-based” rather than predicated on arbitrary Washington timelines.
Campbell also testified Tuesday before the House Armed Services Committee.
Initially, Obama said he would cut the USA deployment to 5,500 by the end of previous year, but as that time neared and insurgent attacks in Afghanistan forced a reassessment, he reversed course and pushed the deadline to the end of 2016. The smaller force would still be expected to handle the dual-pronged mission. But Obama backtracked in October, saying the situation remained too fragile for such a rapid withdrawal.
Campbell said the troop draw-down to 5,500 would likely begin in the fall.
“Those who serve in Afghanistan understand it’s worth the investment”, Campbell said.
“I want to keep 9,800 as long as I can before I drop down to 5,500”, Campbell said. “We have to do everything we can to build up capability for countries, like Afghanistan, to help us in that fight”.
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Gen. Nicholson has previously as chief of staff of operations for the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, and US Forces Afghanistan.
