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Argos Media

Commander's Ouster Is Tied to Shift in Afghan War - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...12military.html

US Afghanistan David McKiernan Stanley McChrystal

shared by Argos Media on 12 May 09 - Cached
  • The top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David D. McKiernan, was forced out Monday in an abrupt shake-up intended to bring a more aggressive and innovative approach to a worsening seven-year war.
  • Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced the decision in terse comments at the Pentagon, saying that “fresh eyes were needed” and that “a new approach was probably in our best interest.” When asked if the dismissal ended the general’s military career, Mr. Gates replied, “Probably.”
  • Defense Department officials said General McKiernan, a respected career armor officer, had been removed primarily because he had brought too conventional an approach to the challenge.
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  • He is to be replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, a former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command. He served in Afghanistan as chief of staff of military operations in 2001 and 2002 and recently ran all commando operations in Iraq.
  • Forces under General McChrystal’s command were credited with finding and capturing Saddam Hussein and with tracking and killing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. His success in using intelligence and firepower to track and kill insurgents, and his training in unconventional warfare that emphasizes the need to protect the population, made him the best choice for the command in Afghanistan, Defense Department officials said.
  • At the same time, he will be confronted with deep tensions over the conduct of Special Operations forces in Afghanistan, whose aggressive tactics are seen by Afghan officials as responsible for many of the American mistakes that have resulted in the deaths of civilians.
  • Pentagon officials have begun to describe Afghanistan as the military’s top priority, even more important than the war in Iraq. President Obama announced a major overhaul of American strategy in Afghanistan in March. Planned troop levels are expected to reach more than 60,000 Americans.
Argos Media

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Nato 'struggling in Afghan south' - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...7931871.stm

NATO Afghanistan David McKiernan

shared by Argos Media on 09 Mar 09 - Cached
  • Coalition forces in Afghanistan are not winning in large parts of the south, the commander of Nato and US forces there has said.
  • The US has said it will deploy up to 17,000 extra troops to Afghanistan.
  • In an interview with the BBC's Today programme, Gen McKiernan said there were areas in the north, east and west where "coalition efforts in support of the government of Afghanistan [are] winning". "But there are other areas - large areas in the southern part of Afghanistan especially, but in parts of the east - where we are not winning," he said.
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  • US President Barack Obama authorised the deployment of up to 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan last month amid a major review of US policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US already has about 14,000 troops serving with the Nato-led mission. There are also 19,000 US troops under sole US command charged with fighting Taleban and al-Qaeda insurgents.
Argos Media

US floats plan to tempt Taliban into political peace dialogue | World news | The Observer - 0 views

www.guardian.co.uk/...y-afghanistan-taliban-dialogue

Afghanistan Taliban Pakistan US William Wood Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

shared by Argos Media on 22 Mar 09 - Cached
  • America has signalled a radical new initiative to bring the Taliban into the Afghan political process as part of growing efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution to the war in Afghanistan.The US ambassador to Kabul told the Observer that America would be prepared to discuss the establishment of a political party, or even election candidates representing the Taliban, as part of a political strategy that would sit alongside reinforced military efforts to end the increasingly intractable conflict.
  • Other ideas being discussed include changing the Afghan constitution as part of potential negotiations, taking senior Taliban figures off UN blacklists to establish dialogue and possible prisoner releases.
  • William Wood, the outgoing US ambassador to Afghanistan, told the Observer that "insurgencies, like all wars... end when there is an agreement". He said while the US saw "no way there could be power-sharing or an enclave" for the Taliban, "there is room for discussion on the formation of political parties [or] running... for elections. That is very different from shooting your way into power." The key requirement would be respect for the constitution, Wood added.
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  • Taliban and other insurgents are currently flowing into Afghanistan from Pakistan as milder weather allows passage over the mountains.
  • Last week, the head of Nato forces in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, admitted to the Observer that his troops "were not winning" in the south and parts of the east of the country, though progress was being made elsewhere. This year will be "critical" and "tough", he said.
  • In Kabul, the Observer has discovered at least four attempts at exploratory negotiations between insurgents, their representatives and the Afghan government. One involves Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Islamist warlord and former prime minister, whose militants are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of international and Afghan soldiers and civilians in the east of Afghanistan. Two weeks ago Hekmatyar's representatives and government emissaries met in a hotel in Dubai, according to Senator Arsala Rahmani, a former Taliban minister who is a key intermediary.
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