Top US general in Afghanistan hands over command

KABUL (Pajhwok): Top US and NATO forces commander in Afghanistan Gen. Scott Miller on Monday handed over command of the new military mission to Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command.

The change of command took place at a ceremony held at NATO Headquarters in Kabul.

Besides Gen. Miller and Gen. Mackenzie, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the Afghan National High Reconciliation Council, Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, National Security Advisor, and Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, Director of Administration Dr. Fazal Mahmood Fazli and Director of National Directorate of Security Zia Siraj were present.

At the beginning of the ceremony, General Miller handed over the new command flag to General Mackenzie, a four-star general.

Gen. Scott Miller has served as America’s top commander in Afghanistan since 2018.

In the flag-passing ceremony, Miller remembered the US and NATO troops killed in the nearly 20-year war as well as the thousands of Afghans who lost their lives.

He warned that relentless violence across Afghanistan is making a political settlement increasingly difficult.

The outgoing commander said he has told Taliban officials “it’s important that the military sides set the conditions for a peaceful and political settlement in Afghanistan.

“But we know that with that violence, it would be very difficult to achieve a political settlement.”

In recent weeks, the Taliban have gained several strategic districts, particularly along the borders with Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib, who attended the handover, said the US and NATO withdrawal has left a vacuum that resulted in Afghanistan’s national security forces stranded on the battlefield without resupplies, sometimes running out of food and ammunition.

Currently, the government is regrouping to retake strategic areas and defend its cities against Taliban advances, he said.

US President Joe Biden has reiterated that the US will remain engaged in Afghanistan with humanitarian assistance.

The US also is committed to spending $4.4 billion annually to fund Afghanistan’s security forces until 2024.

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