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NATO gets new cmdr. in Afghanistan

NATO gets new cmdr. in Afghanistan
US General Joseph Dunford has taken command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in the war-ravaged country of Afghanistan.

Dunford took charge of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from General John R. Allen during a ceremony at the coalition’s headquarters in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday.
The change comes as the coalition is getting ready to withdraw the bulk of its combat troops by the end of 2014 and thus Dunford is tasked with orchestrating the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan after more than 11 years.
Pentagon officials say they expect that American troops would remain in Afghanistan after the US-backed mission ends in 2014, despite international calls for withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.
On February 3, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that Washington would sustain a strategic partnership with Kabul, a “modest” number of US troops would stay in Afghanistan after the 2014 pullout deadline.

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