Afghanistan and Pakistan pose a major security threat to the United States, where Al-Qaeda and its affiliate terrorist groups are seeking to regain territorial control, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be ambassador to Kabul said on Thurday.
“Even as we speak, al Qaeda and their allies
operate inside of Afghanistan and from across the border in Pakistan,” Lt. Gen Karl Eikenberry Eikenberry said in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“They seek to create fear and chaos inside of Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to regain the territorial control that allowed them to so horrifically overturn the peace and tranquility of our homeland seven years ago,” he said.
If confirmed, which he is likely to, Eikenberry would be the next US Ambassador to Afghanistan. He was the top US commander in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007.
Observing that lasting security in Afghanistan can only be delivered through coordinated diplomatic, economic and military means, he said the situation in the country is increasingly difficult.
While success in Afghanistan and Pakistan is vital to US national security interests, it is also a global security concern, and accordingly we must redouble our efforts to gain additional contributions from our allies and from the international community, he said.