The outgoing commander of the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John Campbell, said Tuesday that Afghanistan needs long-term commitment from United States to defeat Taliban and other militant groups.
In his testimony to a congressional committee, Gen. Campbell further added that the commitment must be made in a bid to prevent the security situation to further deteriorate and stop attacks on the West by militants based in Afghanistan.
According to Gen. Campbell, the militants are controlling or having influence on 26 of 407 district centers in the country while 94 districts are viewed as at risk at any given time.
Praising President Barack Obama’s decision to maintain a U.S. troop presence throughout most of this year, Gen. Campbell said aid the United States was developing a five-year vision that would avoid the traditional year-to-year planning mindset.
He also warned that the situation will likely further deteriorate as compared to 2015 if deliberate and measured adjustments are not made.
The remarks by Gen. Campbell comes as the security situation has sharply deteriorated across the country, prompting President Obama to announce in October that the United States would maintain a force of about 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through most of 2016.
The United States was due to draw down the number of forces in the country to an embassy-based presence by 2017 as per the earlier draw down plan.http://www.khaama.com/afghanistan-needs-long-term-u-s-support-to-defeat-militant-groups-gen-campbell-0071
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