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Kenneth Mackenzie will take command of four-star General Scott Miller as the U.S. completes its 20-year war in Afghanistan.
The U.S. chief general of Afghanistan left power on Monday in an official ceremony in the capital, with the latest symbolic gestures nearing the end of America’s longest war.
At a time when the Taliban is making great strides across the country, General Austin “Scott” Miller – a senior official on Afghan soil – ordered General Kenneth McKenzie, a reporter for the AFP news agency reported at the Kabul ceremony.
Miller has been in Afghanistan since 2018, but in May President-General Joe Biden accused him of organizing a permanent withdrawal of U.S. troops, ending in late August.
Since May, most of the 2,500 U.S. soldiers at the time have fled and the U.S. has handed over Bagram to the Afghan air base, from where coalition forces have conducted operations against the Taliban and armed groups for the past two decades.
About 650 U.S. service members are expected to be stationed in Kabul to guard the vast diplomatic complex in Washington, where the ceremony was held on Monday.
Afghan high-ranking officials and military officers attended the ceremony inside the green area of the large fort.
President Joe Biden has reiterated that the US will remain in Afghanistan with humanitarian aid.
The U.S. has also pledged to spend $ 4.424 billion annually to fund Afghan security forces by 2024.
The Taliban is gaining control
The relocation took place at a crucial aid center in the heart of Kabul, in the gains of land gained by Taliban fighters across Afghanistan.
During the flag-raising ceremony, Miller remembered U.S. and NATO troops killed in nearly 20 years of war, as well as thousands of Afghans who lost their lives.
He warned that the ongoing indirect violence in Afghanistan is becoming an increasingly difficult political solution.
The outgoing commander told Taliban officials that “it is important for the military to establish the conditions for a peaceful and political agreement in Afghanistan … But we know that with such violence it would be very difficult to reach a political solution.”
Afghan Defense and National Security Forces, mostly funded by the United States and NATO, have resisted in some parts of the country, but most importantly, Afghan government troops appear to have suspended the fighting.
In recent weeks, the Taliban have gained several strategic districts, mainly on the borders of Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said the delegate said the withdrawal of the US and NATO had left a gap and as a result, Afghan national security forces had been left on the battlefield without refueling, sometimes depleting food and ammunition.
In comments after the event, Mohib said the biggest impact of the withdrawal is the lack of aircraft to supply troops.
Today, the government is working together to reclaim strategic areas and defend its cities against Taliban progress.
The Taliban controls more than a third of Afghanistan’s 421 districts and district centers. The Taliban claim control of 85 percent of the neighborhoods is excessive.
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