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By Valerie Jarrett

Ed. note: The full text of the op-ed by Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett is printed below. The piece is published today on BET.com and can be found HERE.

Today, General Lloyd Austin became the first African-American to lead the U.S. Central Command, which has a wide-ranging area of responsibility for 20 countries in the Middle East and southwest Asia. His appointment is effective immediately.

During the change of command ceremony today, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said, “General Austin brings to this position combat experience gained on the unforgiving battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. He has commanded some of the Army’s most storied formations, including the 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions, as well as the 18th Airborne Corps…With his calm demeanor, strategic vision, regional experience and knowledge, and proven judgment – and with the love and support of Charlene and their children – I am confident General Austin is prepared to lead this command at a time of dramatic change, challenge, and turmoil in its area of responsibility.”

In his 37-year career, General Austin has continually broken barriers for African-Americans in the U.S. Army. He was also the first African-American to serve in his previous position as the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. His historic career includes leading the 3rd Infantry Division in the opening months of the Iraq war where he earned a Silver Star for valor. General Austin later commanded divisions in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and commanded U.S. Forces-Iraq from September 2010 through the completion of the mission in December 2011.

As the U.S. looks to reduce American and Afghan forces in Afghanistan after 2014, Congress members are making comparisons to Iraq and predicting a sharp decline in troops will quickly lead to increased violence and instability.

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, lawmakers pressed the Army general expected to become the top U.S. commander in the Middle East for his assessment of the reduced force.

Army Gen. Lloyd Austin — who oversaw the final U.S. drawdown in Iraq — agreed that plans to sharply decrease the number of Afghan security forces after 2014 could open the door to more Taliban violence. And he said that keeping a larger Afghan force would give the Afghanistan government time to mature and reassure allies of America’s commitment to the region.

Under the agreement reached at the NATO summit in Chicago last year, allies would fund an Afghan force of 230,000 after 2014, down from the planned peak of 352,000. It would cost the allies about $4.1 billion annually.

Austin’s presence at the hearing, which was convened to consider his nomination to head U.S. Central Command, gave senators the chance to grill him on how many troops he had recommended to remain in Iraq after combat forces were removed. Senators said he recommended between 15,000 and 18,000.

The Obama administration was considering leaving as few as 3,500 after the end of combat operations, but ultimately all were withdrawn because the U.S. could not reach an agreement with the Iraq government on legal protections for American troops.

Austin acknowledged that he had recommended a higher number than the 3,500, but declined to say publicly what it was. He agreed that ongoing violence in Iraq is troubling and that the situation there may not be getting better. He said that if the U.S. military had been able to continue to advise and assist the Iraqi security forces, it would have helped them improve.

Austin declined, however, to give his assessment of the Obama administration’s decision to pull 34,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by next year. He said he has not been part of the deliberations but would look into it if he gets the job.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., said she’s worried that the U.S. will not leave a large enough force in Afghanistan after 2014 to protect the U.S. troops that are there.

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Lloyd Austin to Lead U.S. Central Command

Afghan troop cuts invite comparison to Iraq

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