WASHINGTON - Situation in Afghanistan, where the United States is engaged in the longest war in its history, found a passing reference in the 13-page confirmation hearing of Mike Pompeo for the post of the US Secretary of State.
Pompeo currently is the Director of CIA. If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace Rex Tillerson as the Secretary of State. Tillerson was fired by Trump last month.
For the first-time after 9/11, Afghanistan or the Af-Pak region did not figure prominently in the confirmation hearing of the Secretary of State. The top threat to the US, as identified by Pompeo are North Korea, Iran, Russia and China.
After describing these threats in details, Pompeo said that  the failed state of Syria poses a mounting threat to human rights, national security, and regional stability—and it deserves an increasingly severe response.
Thereafter he clubbed Afghanistan with several other challenges.
“Similarly, our nation faces unique and pressing security, governance, and development challenges in Iraq, Afghanistan, Latin America and Africa, where our diplomacy must support people’s efforts to improve their lives,”  Pompeo said.
“The State Department must also be at the forefront of America’s efforts to ease humanitarian crises in Burma, Yemen, Venezuela, parts of Africa, and elsewhere,” said the nominee for the Secretary of State. And surprisingly there was no mention of Pakistan at all in his testimony. (Pajhwok)