July 12 (UPI) — Army Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, who led the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, will step down Monday, marking another sign of American withdrawal from the country.
Miller, a former commander of the top Delta Force unit, had led the operations for almost three years. He will leave as the Afghan war’s long-serving officer. Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, the chief of U.S. Central Command, will oversee the final stage of the U.S.operations there.
McKenzie, as head of CENTCOM, had authority over Afghanistan and many of the neighboring countries. He will continue to operate from his headquarters in Tampa, Fla. and his forward office in Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar.
Last week, President Joe Biden said military withdrawal from Afghanistan will be completed by Aug. 31, but nearly all other troops, contractors and equipment have already left.
“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in his speech last Thursday.
“How many more, how many more thousands of America’s daughters and sons are you willing to risk? How long would you have them stay? It’s up to the Afghans to make decisions about the future of their country.”