Afghan national security forces in Southern Afghanistan took the security lead from NATO on Sunday in a formal ceremony held at Camp Hero in Kandahar Province, NATO officials said.
“It wasn’t that long ago that we had no security forces,” Maj. Gen. Abdul Hamid, commander of the Afghan army’s 205th Hero Corps, said to the American Armed Forces press. “We started from scratch, and today we have everything. I assure that there is no doubt that the [Afghan army] is ready to be independent, and we are ready for this moment right now.”
The highly volatile southern region, which includes Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul and Daykundi provinces, will be a test for Afghan security forces that have seen an increase in insurgent attacks over the past several months as NATO prepares to draw down.
“We’ll never know if they’re ready if they don’t start doing it now,” said a U.S. Military official in Afghanistan. “They have to start taking responsibility some time. And it looks like that time is now.”
Sara A. Carter is The Washington Examiner’s national security correspondent. She can be reached at [email protected].
