WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's choice to be top commander in Afghanistan says he sees a U.S. presence in the country after American combat forces leave at the end of 2014.
Gen. Joseph Dunford told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday that the two main missions for an enduring force would be counterterrorism and assisting Afghan security forces. He gave no numbers on how many Americans that would entail.
Missing from the hearing was the man Dunford would replace -- Gen. John Allen, whose nomination to take over in Europe is on hold amid the sex scandal that has led to the resignation of former Gen. David Petraeus as CIA director.
Allen had been scheduled to testify.
