Biden nominates Michael E. Kurilla to head Central Command
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General Kurilla, if confirmed, would replace Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. and oversee US military operations and occupation forces in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan.
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Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla
US President Biden has nominated Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla to be the next head of the military’s marquee combatant operations command responsible for prosecuting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to The New York Times.
If confirmed, General Kurilla would succeed Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., whose term is slated to expire this spring.
General Kurilla, as the commander of Central Command, "would be responsible for the administration’s efforts to prevent terrorist groups from once again using Afghanistan as a launching pad for attacks on the West," the NYT report claimed.
In withdrawing American troops from the 20-year war there last year, the US president determined that the United States' new policy would be to deploy drone and other strikes from afar, or "over the horizon," to quell any such dangers that arose in Afghanistan.
The newspaper added that "General Kurilla will also have to keep track of Iran," where stalled efforts to resurrect the nuclear agreement reached by President Barack Obama and abandoned by his successor, President Donald J. Trump, have heightened tensions.
“While Lt. General Kurilla is honored by the nomination to serve as commander of U.S. Central Command, he is not presuming confirmation and remains solely focused on his present responsibilities in command of the XVIII Airborne Corps,” a spokesperson for General Kurilla said.
Who is General Kurilla?
General Kurillawas injured in a firefight in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2005 while serving as a battalion commander. He advanced through the ranks, serving as chief of staff to Gen. Joseph L. Votel, then-head of the military's Central Command, and as assistant commanding general and director of operations at the Joint Special Operations Command.
General Kurilla previously commanded the 82nd Airborne Division, one of the US armed forces' most active formations and currently heads the Army's 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In addition to his nomination, he will be promoted from Lieutenant General to General.
