Gen. John Campbell, former commanding general of Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division, is relinquishing command of US and allied forces in Afghanistan.
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Army Lt. Gen. John Nicholson Jr. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, before the the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to become the next top American commander in Afghanistan.
Nicholson acknowledged gaps in Afghan military capabilities and said during his Senate confirmation hearing he aimed to complete his review of the situation in Afghanistan within his first 90 days in command, if confirmed by Congress.
Nicholson is set to replace the Afghanistan command from Gen. John Campbell, who will reportedly be retiring.
“He understands the importance and complexity of our mission in Afghanistan”, Cook said, having served previously as chief of staff of operations for the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, and U.S. Forces Afghanistan. The president broke from that promise last October, saying 5,500 would remain there after the end of this year.
“I am confident that Gen. Nicholson will build upon Gen. Campbell’s hard work to secure a bright future for the Afghan people and help the government of Afghanistan strengthen a professional and capable security partner”.
In responding to questions about gains the Taliban has made in previous strongholds in the north and southern reaches of the country, Nicholson said the extremist political and militant group had pushed the offensive “more intensely than we anticipated”.
At the time, the president said that the United States would keep 9,800 troops there through most of 2016.
Those comments provided fodder for committee members – both Republican and Democrat – to criticize White House plans to draw down American forces in Afghanistan by the end of the year.
Although American forces are no longer engaged in direct action missions against the Taliban, Nicholson said he could not envision US troops remaining on the sidelines if the strategic city of Kandahar were at risk.
“In this age, the threat of transnational terrorism is a legitimate concern”.
He later called the efforts by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in 2015 “clear attempts by a trans-national terrorist organizations to establish sanctuary inside Afghanistan”.
For almost 18 months, Campbell has given his all to the mission as the top commander in Afghanistan, Cook said.
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John McCain (R-Ariz.), offering a harsh assessment of Obama’s management of the Afghan war and his continued practice of announcing dates for troop withdrawals.
