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US Military Chief Voices Full Support for Command Switch in Afghanistan

VOA News
24 June 2010

The U.S. military's top officer says he fully supports President Barack Obama's decision to replace the general leading the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.

Speaking Thursday in Washington, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he supports President Obama's decision to replace General Stanley McChrystal with U.S. Central Command chief David Petraeus.

President Obama announced Wednesday that Petraeus would replace McChrystal, who resigned after publication of an article in which he and his aides mocked members of the Obama administration.

Senior U.S. lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties also have voiced support for General Petraeus.

In Afghanistan, the interim NATO commander, British Lieutenant General Nick Parker, says there will be no change in NATO's mission in Afghanistan.

General Petraeus' appointment to lead American forces in Afghanistan must be ratified by the U.S. Senate, and the Armed Services committee chief says a confirmation hearing will be held no later than Tuesday.

General Parker, who will lead NATO troops in Afghanistan until Petraeus is confirmed and takes up his new post, said international forces are still focused on defeating the insurgency and building a strong national security force.

In Kabul, Afghan government spokesman Waheed Omar said Thursday that McChrystal's departure was unfortunate but that Petraeus is the best possible replacement. Omar noted Petraeus is "no stranger" to Afghanistan since he helped devise the counter-insurgency strategy now in use, and also spent considerable time in the region.

Many Afghan officials had expressed confidence in McChrystal, crediting him with a decrease in the number of civilian casualties and other positive changes. Summoned to Washington after the appearance of a Rolling Stone magazine profile of him titled "The Runaway General," the general submitted his resignation to President Obama at the White House on Wednesday.

The article cited informal conversations in which General McChrystal and his aides made numerous sarcastic and dismissive references to Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser James Jones and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, among others.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.