The number of troops is set to fall to about 5,500 by the end of the year. Gen. John Nicholson, served as undersecretary for memorial affairs in the Veterans Affairs Department.
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“We need to prevent Kandahar from falling into the hands of the Taliban”, Nicholson said.
“Sir, I’d be concerned that we would not be able to perform our counter-terrorism mission”, responded Nicholson.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan according to a harsh version of Islamic law from 1996 until late 2001, when it was ousted by a U.S.-led invasion launched after the September 11, 2011 attacks.
Nicholson conceded that 2015 had brought more tactical setbacks than anticipated.
He also acknowledged gaps in Afghan military capabilities to fully address militancy.
Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte also expressed alarm at the way the administration has telegraphed troop levels in Afghanistan to USA enemies. They are not going to be ready in three years or five years.
Nicholson’s testimony comes amid vast uncertainty over the course of the war. “An argument for (troop) capacity in Afghanistan would be simply the fact that there are many more al Qaida, Pakistan, Taliban, Haqqani in your area of operations”. Some estimates hold that the US-backed government controls, at most, 70% of the country.
Armed Services committee members questioned whether the United States was doing enough to ensure success in Afghanistan where there is a plan to reduce American troops by 40 percent by 2016’s end.
“As the security situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, it makes no strategic or military sense to continue the withdrawal of American forces”, said committee chairman Sen. The Department of Defense announced his nomination Wednesday.
When Obama began his presidency in 2009, he unveiled plans for a slow but complete withdrawal of USA troops from Afghanistan. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Nicholson said the Afghans still retained lead fighting responsibility against the Taliban but pledged not to allow associated forces to overrun the southern city of Kandahar.
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“The view of many of us is that the security situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating rather than improving”, McCain said. Nicholson, who has served about 3 1/2 years in Afghanistan, would receive a fourth star and likely take command of U.S. Forces Afghanistan and NATO’s Resolute Support mission in March. “By now, we should have learned from the precipitous withdrawal from Iraq and the disaster that ensued that wars do not end because politicians say so”, McCain charged.
