At a hearing to confirm the next commander in Afghanistan, Army Lt. Gen. John Nicholson, who will succeed Gen. John Campbell, Mr. McCain criticized President Obama’s plan to bring the USA force level from 9,800 to 5,500 by January 1. without regard to conditions on the ground.
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Speaking to senior lawmakers at a confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Service Committee, Nicholson praised Afghan troops as “born fighters”, but said building aspects of the Afghan military is slow work, especially its air force and casualty evacuation capabilities.
If confirmed by the Senate, General Nicholson would replace Maj.
Lt. Gen. John “Mick” Nicholson, now a top North Atlantic Treaty Organisation officer in Turkey, has been chosen to take over from the current commander, Gen. John Campbell. At Campbell’s urging, Obama decided last October to abandon his plan to reduce troop levels to near zero by the end of 2016.
At the Pentagon Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Afghan security forces would grow in strength in the coming years, describing them as “a force in the making”. “Indeed, our military commanders increasingly realize that preventing the reemergence of terrorist safe havens in Afghanistan will require a long-term partnership with Afghan government and military similar to the US role in South Korea or Colombia”.
Lindsay Graham (R-SC), who asked if a lower USA troop presence in Afghanistan could lead to another terrorist attack similar to those seen on September 11, 2001 on US soil.
Nicholson then rose up the Army’s ranks to become commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation land forces.
“They view it as a matter of pride to defend themselves”, he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. That leaves the window open to keeping both more military advisers and Special Operations troops in Afghanistan as part of a generational approach in which Americans troops remain for years to come. Instead, he said the USA “would need to have an adequate counter-terrorism force in place” without saying how big he thought that force should be. His uncle, retired Army Col. Jim Nicholson, served as VA secretary under President George W. Bush. Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, is the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member on the committee, also indicated the drawdown should be adjusted.
A highway chase in suburban Atlanta ended with a Georgia state trooper being shot and the suspect fatally wounded in an exchange of gunfire, authorities said.
Those capabilities would still take “some time” for the Afghans to master, Nicholson said.
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Nicholson has compiled a storied military career, with perhaps more experience in Afghanistan and with joint allied forces than any other general.
