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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.
Pedro Gonçalves

BBC NEWS | South Asia | US 'needs fresh Afghan strategy' - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8230017.stm

Afghanistan US Stanley McChrystal

shared by Pedro Gonçalves on 31 Aug 09 - Cached
  • A top US general in Afghanistan has called for a revised military strategy, suggesting the current one is failing.In a strategic assessment, Gen Stanley McChrystal said that, while the Afghan situation was serious, success was still achievable.
  • Gen McChrystal's blunt assessment will say that the Afghan people are undergoing a crisis of confidence because the war against the Taliban has not made their lives better, says BBC North America editor Mark Mardell. The general says the aim should be for Afghan forces to take the lead - but their army will not be ready to do that for three years and it will take much longer for the police.
  • And he will warn that villages have to be taken from the Taliban and held, not merely taken.
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  • More than 30,000 extra US troops have been sent to Afghanistan since President Barack Obama ordered reinforcements in May - almost doubling his country's contingent and increasing the Western total to about 100,000. This report does not mention increasing troop numbers - that is for another report later in the year - but the hints are all there, our correspondent says. But when Gen McChrystal's report lands on Mr Obama's desk he will have to ponder the implications of increasing a commitment to a conflict which opinion polls suggest is losing support among the American people. The latest Washington Post-ABC news poll suggests that only 49% of Americans now think the fight in Afghanistan is worth it.
  • In a recent BBC interview, Gen McChrystal said that he was changing the whole approach to the conflict in Afghanistan - from what he described as a focus on "body count", to enabling the Afghans to get rid of the Taliban themselves.
Pedro Gonçalves

BBC News - Nato strike kills a number of Afghanistan civilians - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8527627.stm

Afghanistan NATO ISAF

shared by Pedro Gonçalves on 22 Feb 10 - Cached
  • At least 27 civilians died in a Nato air strike in southern Afghanistan, the Afghan cabinet says, revising downwards a prior statement that 33 were killed.
  • Nato said it hit a suspected insurgent convoy, but ground forces later found "a number of individuals killed and wounded", including women and children. Sunday's attack, in Uruzgan province, was not part of a major Nato-led push in neighbouring Helmand province.
  • Last year, Gen Stanley McChrystal, the Nato and US commander in Afghanistan, introduced much tougher rules of engagement in a bid to minimise such casualties.
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