Nicholson to replace Campbell as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation commander in Afghanistan

President Barack Obama’s pick to lead USA forces in Afghanistan said on Thursday he aimed to review a campaign plan that would cut American troop levels by almost half by the start of next year, as he acknowledged deteriorating security in the country.

General Nicholson will replace Army Gen. John Campbell as top commander in Afghanistan.

Senator John McCain, who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked Nicholson if he agreed that the overall security situation in Afghanistan was worsening.

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.

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.

“We need to prevent Kandahar from falling into the hands of the Taliban”, Nicholson said, adding he would “absolutely” recommend using USA military force to prevent the Taliban from retaking the provincial capital.

The Post notes that the commanders’ assessment makes it impossible for the Obama administration to pull most of soldiers out of Afghanistan by early 2017, as it had planned.

“Sir, I think it’s fair to say”, Nicholson responded.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who last month ended his White House bid, pressed the general about how the US could help avoid “another Mosul”, referencing the key Iraqi city that fell to the Islamic State group’s advances in 2014 in the face of an unprepared and under-trained local army.

When Obama began his presidency in 2009, he unveiled plans for a slow but complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

The Pentagon’s nominee to lead operations in Afghanistan claimed Thursday that less US troops in Afghanistan could lead to a higher risk for another major terrorist attack on the U.S. “Nor will any politician be able to schedule an end to the threat of radical extremist terrorism emanating from Afghanistan or the region more broadly”. Despite their combat mission having ended, 20 US troops also died in Afghanistan over the past year. Before that he spent 14 months as director of the Pentagon s Afghanistan-Pakistan coordination cell. “The difference with Afghanistan is we have a very capable and willing partner”. They are either approved or deleted. But these suggestions should be sent To avoid distracting other readers, we won’t publish comments that suggest a correction.