Carter said he has confidence in Nicholson, calling him “an accomplished soldier with extensive command experience both in Afghanistan and around the world”.
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The Pentagon has named Lieutenant General John Nicholson as the new commander of global forces in Afghanistan, amid concerns about setbacks in the fight against Taliban in the war-torn nation. Among the highlights of his time with the brigade was an extended 16-month deployment to Afghanistan.
Nicholson, a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a career infantry officer, is now commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command, headquartered at Izmir, Turkey.
Once confirmed by the United States Senate, Gen Nicholson who is now the US Army commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation land forces, would replace Gen John Campbell, who has been leading the Afghan operations for almost 18 months.
In its place, there’s a broad recognition in the Pentagon that building an effective Afghan army and police force will take a generation’s commitment, including billions of dollars a year in outside funding and constant support from thousands of foreign advisers on the ground.
Campbell has led USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation operations in the country since August 2014.
Carter said that Gen. Nicholson understands the importance and complexity of the mission in Afghanistan, having served in multiple capacities including chief of staff of operations for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. Forces Afghanistan.
“We’re going to continue to assess the security situation in Afghanistan, and (Carter) is going to continue to listen very carefully to Gen. Campbell on his assessment of what’s happening in Afghanistan, but, as of now, there’s no change to that plan”, Cook said.
In October, Mr. Obama announced that he had slowed the withdrawal of American troops from the country. Some lawmakers in Congress have called for a larger USA force in Afghanistan. That number is set to fall to about 5,500 at the end of this year or in early 2017.
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Campbell recently said the United States should at least maintain its current posture there for the foreseeable future. It was partly on that basis that Campbell recommended the USA not wind down its role as quickly as Obama once wanted. Even though Afghan troops have assumed the lead combat role throughout the country with US troops in an advisory role, Americans still face real dangers and have taken recent casualties there.
