Filed under: News
From the New York Times:
In announcing Monday that he would nominate Gen. Martin E. Dempsey to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Obama concluded a broad reshuffling of his national security team just as the administration is heading into a new debate over bringing American troops home from Afghanistan.
General Dempsey, who if confirmed by the Senate would take over from Adm. Mike Mullen as the nation's highest ranking military officer, has not taken a public position on how many troops should be withdrawn starting in July, the date set by the president for beginning to reduce the United States military presence in Afghanistan.
But he will be walking into a debate that has been simmering within the administration for two years. On one side are those who want to maintain troop levels as much as possible and to continue a counterinsurgency strategy that emphasizes clearing key regions of Taliban fighters and helping the Afghan government build stable institutions. On the other are those who want to focus on counterterrorism, using fewer troops to carry out targeted strikes on Al Qaeda and Taliban forces.
Read more here.