The U.S. military is preparing for a longer commitment in Afghanistan, Army Maj. Gen. Michael Diamond, deputy director for logistics at CENTCOM, said Tuesday in Chicago, while stopping short of saying there is a political commitment to do so. Earlier, Diamond said the arrest of an insurgent lieutenant in Afghanistan early this month, which he called "a big hit," would force combatants to switch tactics.
Long-term preparations are topped by an upgraded airfield at the Bagram military base near Kabul. It already has been used to resupply NATO forces but is not scheduled to be fully operational until January. The U.S. previously entered into an agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to establish a long-term presence on military bases but pointedly has not called them permanent.
In early October, military control in the last of Afghanistan's eastern provinces bordering Pakistan was turned over to NATO's International Security Assistance Force. Most of the rest of the country already was under NATO oversight, except for small pockets in the north and west guarded by Afghan army and police forces.
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