Thursday, March 13, 2014

Marine Gen. Dunford Briefs The U.S. Senate On The Current Security Situation In Afghanistan

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U.S. Commander In Afghanistan Warns That Full Withdrawal Will Allow al-Qaeda To Regroup -- Washington Post

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday that al-Qaeda’s network in that country is in “survival mode,” but warned that a full American military drawdown after the end of the year would allow the terrorist group to regenerate there.

Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford’s remarks to the Senate Armed Services Committee appeared intended to shape the White House’s deliberation over whether to leave behind a contingent for training and counterterrorism missions beyond 2014 or pull out entirely. The decision has been delayed by the Afghan president’s refusal to sign a security pact with Washington.

“A withdrawal, in my mind, means abandoning the people of Afghanistan, abandoning the endeavor that we’ve been here on for the last decade, and then providing al-Qaeda the space within which to begin again to plan and conduct operations against the West,” Dunford said.

The general said a U.S. pullout in 2015 would be a “huge moral factor for al-Qaeda,” and would allow it “to once again establish preeminence in the region and become the vanguard for the al-Qaeda movement from the region.”

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More News On The U.S. Senate Testimony From The Top U.S. Commander In Afghanistan

Dunford pushes for post-2014 US presence in Afghanistan -- Stars and Stripes
ISAF Chief: Taliban No Longer 'Existential Threat' to Afghanistan -- Defense News
U.S. General Warns of Perils in Leaving Afghanistan -- New York Times
Dunford Briefs Senate on Progress in Afghanistan -- US Department Of Defense
Nato commander warns full US troop pullout will aid al-Qaida in Afghanistan -- The Guardian
Top US commander warns of risk in withdrawing from Afghanistan -- The Telegraph
US Commander Urges Patience With Afghanistan -- Voice of America
Top U.S. Commander Warns Against Leaving Afghanistan in 2014 -- NBC
Top American commander warns Afghanistan would deteriorate quickly if US completely withdraws -- FOX News
Existing Afghan deal would cover US post-2014 -- Washington Post/AP
Dunford: Lack of Afghanistan agreement doesn't affect U.S. troops yet -- Army Times
Russia can't thwart Afghan war drawdown, U.S. commander says -- Reuters

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