A US general on Sunday assumed the command of NATO and US forces in Afghanistan, the NATO-led coalition forces said. “US Marine Corps Gen Joseph F Dunford, Jr assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from US Marine Corps Gen John R Allen at a change of command ceremony today,” the ISAF said in a press release issued. “Today is not about change, it’s about continuity,” said Gen. Dunford, addressing the audience on his vision for Afghanistan and the coalition. “I’ll endeavor to continue the momentum of the campaign and support the people of Afghanistan as they seize the opportunity for a brighter future.” “Gen Dunford takes over from his fellow Marine and friend of 35 years.
Gen. Allen’s 19 months at the helm, beginning in July 2011, make him the longest-serving ISAF commander in the 11-year- old campaign,” the ISAF release added.
Under Allen’s leadership, the Afghan National Security Forces, what Gen Allen has called the “defeat mechanism of the insurgency” reached their target strength of 352,000 and are now leading the vast majority of operations across the country, it noted. The ceremony was attended by senior Afghan, NATO and US officials, including German Army Gen Hans-Lothar Domrose, Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum; US Army Gen Martin E Dempsey, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and US Marine Corps Gen James N Mattis, Commander, US Central Command, the release said.
The Taliban have been waging an insurgency since its regime was toppled by a US-led invasion in late 2001.
Currently about 100,000 NATO-led forces, with nearly 66,000 of them Americans are stationed in the country to stop the Taliban from returning to power.
In an interview with the BBC, General John Allen said it was difficult to “put a dot on the calendar” to mark victory in counter-insurgency campaign, but insisted NATO effort was moving in the right direction.
“I think we have gone a long way to setting the conditions for what, generally, usually, is the defining factor in winning a counter-insurgency — to set the conditions for governance, to set the conditions for economic opportunity… I think we are on the road to winning,” he told the broadcaster.
Allen was the fourth ISAF commander under US President Barack Obama, and his 19-month tenure was punctuated by a series of crises, from the accidental burning of copies of the holy Quran at a US base to images of US soldiers urinating on the bodies of Taliban fighters.
