Obama picks Army general to lead Afghan training

TOPEKA, Kan. — President Barack Obama has nominated the commander of Fort Leavenworth to lead U.S. and NATO efforts to train Afghan forces.

Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV would join the war’s top U.S. commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, if confirmed by the Senate this fall. McChrystal is pushing for more help in developing Afghanistan’s fledging military.

Caldwell has led the Kansas post since July 2007, and guided development of the U.S. Army’s plans for training foreign security forces. His new position would focus on training local army and police forces in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, al-Qaida and other terrorists.

John Nagl, president of the Center for a New American Security in Washington, D.C., said Caldwell’s nomination is a recognition by the Pentagon of the importance of the mission, elevating the command from a two-star to three-star general. Nagl noted the deployment of a 82nd Airborne Division brigade to train Afghan forces, but he said more troops and resources will be needed.

“He’s got the right skill sets to make a huge difference,” Nagl, a former Army officer, said of Caldwell.

The nomination, announced late Thursday, comes as Obama reviews McChrystal’s assessment of the war and the need to develop Afghanistan’s military to fight a resurgent Taliban. McChrystal wants as many as 40,000 additional troops. There are 65,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan now, along with 40,000 more from NATO countries.

In his assessment, McChrystal said Afghan forces weren’t large enough to meet the demands of the war, but that development was vital to the strategy for sustainable security and stability in the country. He said the progress by Afghan forces over the next 12 to 18 months was critical to preserve international support.

McChrystal advocates accelerating growth of the Afghan forces from 200,000 soldiers to 400,000. But efforts to train those units thus far have been hindered by a lack of discipline, widespread corruption and illiteracy.

House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton called Caldwell “an excellent educator and trainer” while overseeing Fort Leavenworth and its Command and General Staff College, where the Army’s majors receive advanced training.

“He did a great job in command of Fort Leavenworth and will do great things in his new post,” Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, said Friday. “I am confident the president’s new command team can develop and implement an effective strategy to regain momentum in Afghanistan.”

This is the second time in three years that a president has picked Fort Leavenworth’s commander for key war commands. Gen. David Petraeus was promoted in 2007, and he is now commander of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Caldwell and McChrystal were classmates at West Point and graduated in 1976.