Skip to main content

Dunford takes charge of NATO in Afghanistan

General expected to be last commander of NATO and US forces there, as combat troops are set to withdraw by end of 2014.



The command of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan is changing hands, with Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford taking over from General John Allen.

Dunford is expected to be the force's last commander, with the US committed to removing its combat troops from the country by the end of 2014.

"Today is not about change, it's about continuity. What has not changed is the will of this coalition," Dunford said in a change-of-command ceremony for the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul on Sunday.

Afghan forces are expected to take over the lead role for security in Afghanistan this spring. The international force plans to hand over full responsibility for security to the Afghans by the end of 2014, with most international combat forces being withdrawn.

Former Iraq commander

Dunford will assume command of 68,000 US troops who make up the bulk of the coalition force of about 100,000, and will be the fifth top allied commander in Afghanistan in a five-year period.

He has served in Iraq and has been assistant commandant of the Marine Corps since October 2010.

Despite the persistence of the Taliban's bloody battle against President Hamid Karzai's government and NATO forces, Allen, who leaves to become NATO's supreme commander in Europe, said the coalition was "on the road to winning".

He stressed the Afghans' role in taking over all security by the middle of the year.

"Afghan forces [are] defending Afghan people and enabling the government of this country to serve its citizens. This is
victory. This is what winning looks like," Allen said.

On his last day in command, Allen urged the Taliban to renounce violence if it wanted to play a part in Afghanistan's future.

"If the Taliban wants to play in the future of Afghanistan, they're going to have to give up the kind of violence toward the Afghan population, and the connection that they've had with al-Qaeda," Allen said.

But the outgoing general also said that ultimately, it is up to the Taliban, the Afghan people and Karzai's government to reach a solution to the country's internal conflict.

It is still unclear how many troops Washington will leave behind in Afghanistan beyond 2014.

Reports last month citing the US Defence Department suggested that between 3,000 and 9,000 troops would stay to focus on preventing al-Qaeda, which was sheltered by the 1996-2001 Taliban regime, from regaining a foothold in Afghanistan.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif