Dunford assumes NATO command in Afghanistan
11 Feb 2013 7:37 AM IST
US General Joseph Dunford assumed command of NATO forces in Afghanistan on Sunday, taking over from General John Allen as the coalition prepares to withdraw the bulk of its combat troops by next year.
Marine General Dunford will likely be the last commander of the United States' longest war, tasked with bringing forces home after more than 11 years and overseeing the transfer of Afghan security duties to local forces. Despite the persistence of the Taliban's bloody insurgency against President Hamid Karzai's government and NATO forces, Allen, who leaves to become the alliance's supreme commander in Europe, said: ‘We will be victorious.’ Dunford, a Marine general like Allen who earned the nickname ‘Fighting Joe’ for his leadership in Iraq, took command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a ceremony at the group's headquarters in Kabul amid tight security.
Marine General Dunford will likely be the last commander of the United States' longest war, tasked with bringing forces home after more than 11 years and overseeing the transfer of Afghan security duties to local forces. Despite the persistence of the Taliban's bloody insurgency against President Hamid Karzai's government and NATO forces, Allen, who leaves to become the alliance's supreme commander in Europe, said: ‘We will be victorious.’ Dunford, a Marine general like Allen who earned the nickname ‘Fighting Joe’ for his leadership in Iraq, took command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a ceremony at the group's headquarters in Kabul amid tight security.
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