The Marine general nominated to head U.S. Central Command testified at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that the war in Afghanistan is still “largely stalemated” entering its 18th year.
“I believe that operational military situation is largely stalemated,” said Lt. Gen. Frank McKenzie in an appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
But McKenzie expressed guarded optimism because efforts of newly-appointed special representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad.
“That is a new element in the equation we have not had before, working to come to some form of reconciliation and a political end state of the conflict that we have been unable to approach before.”
McKenzie said the major military change in strategy in Afghanistan is that Afghan forces are doing the fighting, with the support of U.S. and coalition forces, and that it is “critical to maintain unrelenting pressure on the Taliban.”
But that doesn’t mean that U.S. troops are not in harm’s way. So far this year 13 U.S. service members have died in Afghanistan, 12 from hostile fire.
“It is important to convince the Taliban, even as we are in a stalemate, so they are in stalemate, so they will be unable to find a path to victory on the battlefield,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie would make no prediction of how much longer the Afghanistan war will drag on, but said if the U.S. were to withdraw now it would likely result in the collapse of the Afghan government and military.
“I may be wrong,” he testified, “but I think this may be a new opportunity for us.”
