Gretel C. Kovach attended the 2011 National Security Journalism Conference on covering the military. She filed this story for the San Diego Union-Tribune, where she is a reporter.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The president’s new plan to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan will accelerate the transition to Afghan security control already set in motion by top U.S. commanders, according to the Camp Pendleton Marine who spent last year in charge of the international coalition in southwestern Afghanistan.
Key details about which U.S. troops will leave first, and from where, are in flux. But the insurgents are certain to respond to the pullout by attacking Afghan forces to probe their abilities and resolve, Maj. Gen. Richard Mills said Friday in Washington, D.C. He spoke with military reporters at a Medill National Security Journalism Initiative conference.
“What you’re seeing is a speed-up in what was already a process that Gen. (David) Petraeus put in place. There was a process of transition from coalition forces’ control to Afghan control that was due to start 1 July,” one that includes the capital of Helmand province, where Mills commanded 30,000 NATO troops until returning from his yearlong tour in March.
“I would expect that Afghan security forces will be tested, through murder and intimidation,” Mills said. “I don’t believe the insurgent has the ability to mount a serious large-scale attack, but he’ll push to see what reaction he gets and the capability.”
Roughly a third of the entire U.S. force of 100,000 troops is scheduled to come home by September 2012, according to the plan announced Wednesday by President Barack Obama.
Mills, responding to several questions from journalists at the conference, said it is unclear at this point how the withdrawal will affect Marine operations. About 20,000 U.S. Marines are stationed in southwestern Afghanistan.
“The key to that is what kind of forces come out of the country. That is the question everyone will be looking at. Are we going to bring out support folks, collapse headquarters, bring out those kinds of people? Obviously that has less impact on actions on the ground,” Mills said. “Where they come from and what type of units are really two key questions.”
The Marines took advantage of the surge of extra troops sent to southwestern Afghanistan last year to roust the Taliban from their safe havens, choke off insurgent supply routes, train the Afghan army, and nurture the local economy and government institutions, Mills said.
Although the troops he commanded under the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force made “tremendous” headway last year, Mills said the insurgents are broken, but not yet beaten.
Underscoring his comments Friday was the Pentagon’s announcement of the latest Camp Pendleton Marine fatally wounded in combat in Afghanistan: Cpl. Gurpreet Singh, 21, of Antelope, died June 22. He was the fifth Marine from the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment killed since the unit took command in April of the violent Sangin area in northeastern Helmand province.
When asked if his commander in chief’s plan of withdrawal starting this summer could endanger the gains Mills described, he demurred. “With transition, we’ve been directed to do so, and we will do so. It’s just a question of risk, and how much,” Mills said.
About 30 journalists participated in the conference, which also was sponsored by the McCormick Foundation and Carnegie Corp. Mills, the keynote speaker of the inaugural event, has been discussing his tour with a variety of groups in the U.S. and Britain since he handed over command in March to Maj. Gen. John Toolan and East Coast Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C.
He has been selected for a third star and will begin a new job next month in charge of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va. He also will become deputy commandant for combat development and integration.
This story first appeared on SignOnSandiego.com.
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