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New US Commander for Afghanistan No Stranger to Counterinsurgency

24 June 2010

General David Petraeus, who is set to take over as U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, is no stranger to counterinsurgency, having overseen the U.S. military surge to reduce skyrocketing violence in Iraq.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday appointed General David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command as his new commander in Afghanistan. He replaces General Stanley McChrystal who resigned earlier in the day after disparaging remarks he made about civilian leaders were published in a magazine article.

The new appointment means Petraeus will relinquish control of all U.S. forces in the Middle East to focus efforts on a difficult campaign in Afghanistan, where troop casualties hit a high this month.

The general takes on the Afghan war effort at a tense and critical moment in President Obama's revamped strategy to beat the Taliban insurgency and handover security to the Afghan army and police. U.S. forces are preparing to enter the southern province of Kandahar, the spiritual homeland of the Taliban and its stronghold, after mixed success in taking control of Marja in neighboring Helmand province.

General Petraeus will also have to establish a relationship with the key U.S. partner in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai, who has had rocky relations with the Obama administration.

The general is credited with salvaging the war effort in Iraq as commander of the country's Multi-National Force by overseeing a 2007 U.S. troop surge that successfully tamped down insurgent attacks. The strategy in Afghanistan is not expected to change, as it largely follows the U.S. military's counterinsurgency manual written by General Petraeus.

The four-star general graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1976 and earned his doctorate in international relations from Princeton University. He is married and has two children.

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