Top U.S. military leader departing Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — The outgoing U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, issued an impassioned call to Taliban insurgents Sunday, asking them to “stop killing your fellow Afghans” and come to the peace table, but warning them, “make no mistake, until you are willing to start talking, we will keep fighting.”

Nicholson, 61, spoke at a formal military ceremony that marked his departure after 36 months leading the advisory mission of up to 14,000 U.S. troops in a NATO coalition, and the arrival of his replacement, Lt. Gen. Austin Scott Miller. The handover came at an uncertain time of both aggressive insurgent threats and nascent hopes for reconciliation after 17 costly years of war.

Miller echoed Nicholson’s resolve. He said the conflict is still “a tough fight,” but that “what we do here will be vital to both Afghanistan and the world.”

Miller, 57, has spent much of his career overseeing Special Operations forces, and his most recent position was as commander of the Joint Special Operations Command. He was among the first U.S. soldiers to enter Afghanistan after Sep. 11, 2001, and since 2013 he has commanded various Special Operations units, where U.S. and Afghan forces work together in counterterror teams fighting the Islamic State and other groups.

The change of command is traditionally a time of reflection and scrutiny. Miller is arriving at a moment of fresh questions in Washington about the role and duration of the U.S. military commitment in Afghanistan and growing doubts about the Afghan government’s leadership and internal cohesiveness, in relation to both security policies and political dealings.

The outdoor ceremony at the Resolute Support headquarters came at an especially difficult moment for President Ashraf Ghani, who worked closely with Nicholson but did not attend the event. Ghani’s offer of an extended cease-fire last month was rebuffed by the Taliban, which had just staged a deadly four-day assault on a large Afghan city.

Nicholson, in his farewell remarks, noted that political as well as military challenges face the country, especially with two elections scheduled in the next 8 months.

Accusations of political pressure and bribery have been roiling the pre-election process and vetting of candidates. Nicholson asked Afghans to “please not allow politics to undermine the political process; please do not allow politics or ethnicity to harm the cohesion of the Afghan security forces.”