President Trump decided that diplomat John Bass, the US ambassador to Turkey, will be a perfect person to lead diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan. Senate should confirm this president’s nomination.
On Thursday, the White House reported that John Bass will be the US top diplomat to Afghanistan. Mr Bass who had served at six US missions overseas will be an ambassador in the war-torn nation if Senate confirms this Trump’s decision.
Mr Bass is currently the US ambassador to Turkey and an ex-ambassador to Georgia. During the Barack Obama’s presidency, the longtime diplomat was nominated to both positions.
John Bass as new ambassador to Afghanistan
If confirmed by the Senate, Bass will be transferred to his new job in Afghanistan during a critical time. The Trump administration is currently weighing whether to increase American troop levels to bolster an existing U.S. force of 8,400 in Afghanistan to contest the Taliban.
The armed conflict in Afghanistan is America’s longest-running war. The Taliban is gaining territory, it controls about 40 percent of the country, and casualties for government forces reached record levels last year. In April, the US dropped one of its largest non-nuclear bombs on a Taliban post — the first such use of the weapon in battle. Taking into account that ISIS also has established a small presence in Afghanistan, working as a diplomat in the war-torn country may be the toughest time in the diplomatic career of John Bass.
