WASHINGTON--Gen. John F. Campbell, the American commander in Afghanistan, told lawmakers Tuesday that the airstrike that “mistakenly struck” a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz and killed 19 people resulted from “a U.S. decision made within the U.S. chain of command.”

In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Campbell said the details of what took place in Kunduz on Saturday would come out in an investigation.

Beyond the fallout from the strike, which Doctors Without Borders has said may amount to a war crime, the United States is facing a slew of other challenges in Afghanistan.

The Taliban has made significant advances in the past year, and the airstrike was carried out to support Afghan troops who were trying to retake the northern city of Kunduz from the insurgents. The capture of Kunduz on Sept. 28 was the first time that the Taliban had seized an Afghan city since 2001.

At the same time, the Obama administration is again considering whether to move forward with plans to cut by about half the current American force of about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan. Most of those troops are there to train and advise Afghan forces, and the military, along with some senior officials within the administration, is pushing to maintain as large a force in Afghanistan for as long as possible, arguing that the Afghan army and police are still in need of American assistance.

General Campbell, in his testimony on Tuesday, pressed that line, saying he believed the situation in Afghanistan necessitated a change in plans. “Based on conditions on the ground, I do believe we have to provide our senior leadership with options different from the current plan,” he said in a response to a question about whether the drawdown should proceed as planned.

“As I take a look at conditions on the ground,” he continued, “when the president made that decision it did not take into account the changes over the past two years.” (Source: The New York Times)

Story Date: October 7, 2015