White House Nominates New Commander For Afghanistan
He supported the Obama administration’s exit strategy, which critics have derided as politically driven, while also promising the senators his decisions will be grounded in sound military strategy.
He peppered his answers with phrases such as “right-sized” and “right-sourced” to make sure Afghanistan did not devolve into the same terrorist harbor it was before the 9/11 attacks.
The Obama administration granted the USA forces new authority to target loyalists of the terror group in Afghanistan earlier this month, a move followed shortly after the U.S. Department of State designated the Khorasan branch of the terror as a terrorist organization.
Nicholson would succeed General John Campbell, who is expected to retire around the beginning of March.
Campbell told USA TODAY late last month that he wanted to maintain that troop level for as long as possible in 2016. He said a hypothetical plan to drop force levels to fewer than 1,000 troops by January 2017 is too unsafe, but deferred on plans for 5,500 troops in country at that time.
Carter also commended Campbell for his work to lead Afghanistan-based USA forces against al-Qaida, Ferdinando reports.
During an exchange with Sen.
Officials from the Senate Armed Services Committee said they’ve been planning the hearing for several weeks, in part because of the importance of the post and its oversight of the now 14-year-old conflict in Afghanistan. The South Carolina Republican asked Nicholson on whether the US would lift its restrictions against direct combat in Afghanistan if, for example, the Taliban marched on its traditional heartland of Kandahar.
Nicholson said the Taliban came at the Afghan forces “more intensely than perhaps we anticipated”.
The committee chairman, Sen. The nomination and Nicholson’s accompanying promotion to four-star rank require Senate confirmation.
“We need to prevent Kandahar from falling into the hands of the Taliban”, the general said. “I agree with your assessment”, Nicholson conceded, adding that the Taliban had gone on the offensive more intensely than military commanders had anticipated.
“In this case, Pakistan, to go after those sanctuaries, and then the other important piece is to build up the defence capacity of the Afghans so that they can keep that level of violence down to a manageable level”, the general said.
The general chosen by Barack Obama to command the Afghanistan war through the end of his presidency has signaled an intention to intensify counter-terrorism efforts and re-evaluate the schedule for troop reductions.