WASHINGTON – *General Scott Miller, nominated to take over US militaryoperations in Afghanistan, on Tuesday warned senators that if America pullsout its troops too quickly, there is a risk Daesh could merge with al-Qaedaand plan attacks against the US or its allies.*

Miller, who heads the US Joint Special Operations Command, told the SenateArmed Services Committee that, if appointed, he’ll reassess the troopnumbers in Afghanistan to see if the force size is right.

According to him any abrupt US withdrawal could trigger consequencessimilar to what happened in Iraq in 2015 – where the Iraqi militarycollapsed and many forces ran or surrendered to Daesh.

“A disorderly and precipitous withdrawal would have negative effects on USnational security,” Miller said.

“I would be concerned about ISIS (Daesh) and al-Qaeda’s ability to mergeand project external operations — one, because I know they want to, and Iknow they’re constantly looking for that opportunity.”

AP meanwhile reported that Miller is expected to be easily approved by theSenate to take control of a war that has dragged on for 17 years and led tofrustration and pointed questions about America’s path to success inAfghanistan.

Miller also raised the issue of Pakistan and said the US needs to eliminatesafe havens for terrorists in Pakistan if it is to succeed in Afghanistan.

Safe havens in Pakistan make it “infinitely more difficult” for the US tosecure its national interests, Miller said.

“We have to squeeze out safe havens if we’re going to be successful here,”he said adding that Pakistan must be part of the solution in Afghanistan,not just diplomatically but also from a security perspective.

“We should have high expectations that they are part of the solution,” hesaid.

Miller is expected to officially replace Gen. John Nicholson in the nextfew weeks as US and NATO commander in Afghanistan.