Today's D Brief: US Afghan commander steps down; Biden’s ransomware threats; US-French SOF deal; Hottest June ever; And a bit more.
By Bradley Peniston and Ben Watson
July 12, 2021 10:32 AM ET
The D Brief
America’s Afghan war commander steps down. Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, who has served as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan since 2018, relinquished his command at a Monday ceremony in Kabul. Command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan — and of possible air strikes and other air support mounted from nearby countries — now belongs to Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla.
As well: “A two-star admiral based at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul will oversee the U.S. military’s role in securing the American diplomatic presence in Kabul, including defending the Kabul airport,” AP reports.
Miller warned in his remarks “that relentless violence across Afghanistan is making a political settlement increasingly difficult,” AP wrote.
He arrived in-country after stints leading the secretive Delta Force and then Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, the Washington Post’s Dan Lamothe wrote in a June profile. “Restricted by the realities of a 20-year-old conflict, Miller boosted airstrikes to numbers not seen in a decade, and threw his support behind a possible political settlement with the Taliban — even as he privately questioned the group’s willingness to follow through, several officials said.” Miller ultimately oversaw the initial drawdowns ordered by Donald Trump, and the final one ordered by President Biden.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/07/the-d-brief-july-12-2021/183669/
