The Senate approved the nomination of Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford to lead US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Senators confirmed him on Dec. 3 by voice vote on the Senate floor, according to the Senate’s website. Dunford, currently the Marine Corps’ assistant commandant, will head the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, replacing Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, who has served in that role since July 2011. Obama tapped Dunford in October for the post, saying at the time Dunford would “lead our forces through key milestones in our effort that will allow us to bring the war to a close responsibly” by the end of 2014. Obama has nominated Allen to be the next NATO supreme allied commander for Europe and also lead US European Command.
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…