Army official: Security in Afghanistan is worsening

President Obama on Wednesday nominated Nicholson to take over as the commander of USA and allied troops when Campbell’s tour of duty ends.

Officials say the Obama administration has chosen a seasoned veteran of the Afghanistan war to succeed Gen. John F. Campbell as the top American commander in Kabul.

The hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee began with the panel’s chairman, Sen.

Lieutenant General John Nicholson’s Senate confirmation hearing underscored anxiety in Congress about Obama’s withdrawal plan, which has already been slowed to address Afghanistan’s struggle to blunt a still-resilient Taliban insurgency.

The U.S. now has 9,800 troops operating in Afghanistan in those roles, and a plan to draw than number down to 5,500 service members by the end of the year. He said they do have some shortcomings “that simply take years and years to develop” – such as such as intelligence collection and air support.

Nicholson said he supports the decision to keep troops in Afghanistan for now and that he agrees with Campbell’s decision.

Although American forces are no longer engaged in direct action missions against the Taliban, Nicholson said he could not envision US troops remaining on the sidelines if the strategic city of Kandahar were at risk.

Nicholson said he views the terrorist safe havens inside Pakistan as a serious problem.

“There is no officer who has as much experience (in Afghanistan) in the USA military than he does”, Kirk said, adding Nicholson received Kirk’s “highest recommendation”.

It is believed that the process of peace in Afghanistan will be a test for all parties due to strong opposition within Afghanistan towards any peace with the Taliban.

Lt. Gen. Nicholson, slated to lead the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation mission in Afghanistan, admits overall security situation worsening.

During his own testimony, Nicholson agreed with McCain that conditions in Afghanistan grew bleaker over the past year.

“Sir, I’d be concerned that we would not be able to perform our counter-terrorism mission”, responded Nicholson.

“We do need to think about an enduring commitment to the Afghans”, he said.

Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte also expressed alarm at the way the administration has telegraphed troop levels in Afghanistan to USA enemies.

Nicholson then rose up the Army’s ranks to become commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation land forces.

A blunt Pentagon report released last month said the security situation in Afghanistan deteriorated in the second half of 2015, with Taliban militants staging more attacks and inflicting far more casualties on Afghan forces.