US vows continued support to Afghan govt, forces

KABUL : The incoming commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan has renewed America’s commitment to supporting the Afghan government and its security forces.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, who replaced Gen. Scott Miller at a ceremony here on Monday, said maintaining an ongoing diplomatic presence in Afghanistan was among his priorities.

In a statement from the US military, he called continued support to the Afghan security forces, people and government America’s key objective.

McKenzie also pledged to prevent Afghanistan once again becoming a safe haven for terrorism that threatened the US homeland and American friends and neighbours.

He commended Gen. Miller’s magnificent work over the past three years, and the many years before that that he spent in Afghanistan.

“Nobody has been more dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifices of our troops and our Afghan allies and partners than Scott,” the general remarked.

McKenzie hailed Miller as the right leader at the right time, a great representative of the hundreds of thousands of US forces who had served here courageously in defense of their countries.

“A testament to his leadership and to his team has been a truly historic performance of this retrograde so far,” said the new Resolute Support Mission commander.

Millions of tonnes of equipment and thousands of personnel had been moved out of Afghanistan safely, swiftly and sensibly while continuing to support the Afghan forces, he added.

“Never before has an operation of this magnitude been conducted so effectively under these conditions,” he continued.

With the drawdown of foreign troops set to be complete by the end of August, he promised the US commitment to support the Afghan government and its armed forces carried on.

“What the ceremony today signifies is our renewed commitment to our Afghan partners,” he said, recalling President Biden’s statement that the principal objectives of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan were to bring Osama bin Laden to justice.

“We fulfilled the first objective 10 years ago, and ever since we’ve calibrated our force posture in Afghanistan to enable progress in the campaign to degrade al Qaeda and other terrorist groups here.”

McKenzie noted the capabilities of the Afghan forces had increased and the US determination to support the Afghan government and forces had remained constant.

He said the US and its allies in Afghanistan would remain focused on four things over the course of the coming period:

Protecting their diplomatic presence in this country; enabling the safe operation of the Kabul airport; continuing to provide appropriate advice and assistance to Afghan forces; and supporting counterterrorism efforts.