{"id":55166,"date":"2018-06-19T15:03:59","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T15:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/19\/despite-17-years-of-war-next-us-commander-in-afghanistan-sees-progress\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:55:27","slug":"despite-17-years-of-war-next-us-commander-in-afghanistan-sees-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/19\/despite-17-years-of-war-next-us-commander-in-afghanistan-sees-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite 17 years of war, next US commander in Afghanistan sees progress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 While acknowledging that 17 years of war \u201cis a very long time,\u201d the incoming head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan told lawmakers he sees <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/05\/21\/watchdog-report-questions-us-claim-on-afghan-war-progress\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">progress in the ongoing fight<\/a> thanks to recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/16\/dod-ig-too-soon-to-tell-if-trumps-south-asia-strategy-will-break-the-taliban\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">changes in military strategy there<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can\u2019t guarantee you a timeline or an end date,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/23\/joint-special-operations-leader-to-be-us-commander-in-afghanistan\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Army Lt. Gen. Austin Scott Miller<\/a>, nominated to succeed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2016\/03\/02\/a-new-general-takes-command-of-the-endless-war-in-afghanistan\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Army Gen. John Nicholson<\/a> leading the American and NATO mission in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut I go back to the vital interests of national security for America. I know this is having an effect on elements that would attack us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comments grew skepticism from several members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who expressed confidence in Miller to lead the Afghanistan effort but grave concerns with the ongoing mission there.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/05\/30\/why-should-the-us-stay-in-afghanistan-the-commander-of-coalition-forces-offers-his-views-as-he-departs\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/28115363899_8d241a916c_k.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Why should the US stay in Afghanistan? Here\u2019s what the top commander there said.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">US forces needed to further suppress militant groups, realize Afghan gains, Nicholson said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congressional officials said about 16,000 U.S. troops are currently deployed in Afghanistan in training and counterterrorism roles. Pentagon estimates have about two-thirds of the country\u2019s population in areas under Afghan government control, with the rest still contested or being held by Taliban fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miller, who would be the 17th commander to oversee the Afghanistan mission, acknowledged when pressed by lawmakers that Pentagon leaders need to be evaluating the possibility of a full U.S. withdrawal of troops in coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4280157.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-37468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4280157.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4280157.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4280157.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4280157.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lt. Gen. Scott Miller, the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, speaks April 5, 2018, at the new Joint Training Center in Jordan. (Sgt. 1st Class Whitney Hughes\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At one point in the hearing, he motioned to his son \u2014 a second lieutenant in the Army \u2014 and said he \u201cnever anticipated his cohort would be in a position to deploy there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Miller also warned that \u201cwith a precipitous and disorderly withdrawal, we would see negative effects on U.S. national security.\u201d He said without more training and preparation for Afghanistan security forces, \u201cI would be concerned about ISIS and al-Qaida\u2019s ability to emerge\u201d as terrorist threats against the American homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like several previous commanders for the Afghanistan mission, Miller said he sees progress in that training, and said military officials need more time to complete that work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democratic lawmakers questioned whether that will ever be finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m afraid we\u2019re asking our military to perform an impossible task,\u201d said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. \u201cOur military cannot and should not be in Afghanistan forever. We\u2019re heading deeper down a path that does not have success at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several others expressed concerns that President Donald Trump\u2019s new strategy for the region \u2014 which included another plus-up of American troops deployed in Afghanistan \u2014 has no realistic exit strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4150726.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4150726.jpg.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4150726.jpg.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4150726.jpg.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4150726.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4150726.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Coalition conducted a series of airstrikes to support Afghan Commandos clearance of ISIS-K fighters and fighting positions in Pekha Valley, Achin district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 17, 2018. Persistent offensive ground and air operations throughout the winter expelled ISIS-K from more than seven kilometers of mountainous terrain in southeastern Nangarhar. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jacob Krone)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But other Republicans on the panel used Miller\u2019s warning of a premature withdrawal as justification for the continued presence, and a reminder that serious threats still remain nearly two decades after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI wish that you and all of those other lieutenants and captains who said in 2001 that they were there so their kids wouldn\u2019t have to be could have had that prediction come true. But it\u2019s simply not the case,\u201d said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and an Iraq War veteran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe enemy is still there. And the enemy still gets a vote.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miller is expected to be confirmed to the post in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Army Lt. Gen. Austin Miller is expected to be easily confirmed to oversee the mission despite senators&#8217; dissatisfaction with the ongoing war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":90990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,8,23,93,12,25,68,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-55166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IVUR4EI4X5GATLLCNU2JS2CDDI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/06\/19\/despite-17-years-of-war-next-us-commander-in-afghanistan-sees-progress\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Despite 17 years of war, next US commander in Afghanistan sees progress - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Army Lt. 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