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Afghan war at critical stage, says commander
”We all recognize the threat that the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the other associated syndicate of extremists pose to this country, this region and to the world,” he said. Petraeus was last week appointed to lead all foreign forces in Afghanistan after his predecessor, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was dismissed for insulting remarks he and aides made about the US administration in a magazine interview.
The shift comes at a time when the Taliban are at their strongest since being overthrown in 2001, and with ISAF casualties mounting daily. Suicide bombers and insurgent fighters also attacked a US aid contractor’s office in northern Kunduz last week, killing five people and wounding dozens more.
Petraeus, wearing camouflage fatigues and speaking near a marble column dedicated to ISAF troops killed in the Afghan campaign, told senior commanders and several Afghan ministers that his appointment signaled a change in command, not strategy.
Despite last month being the bloodiest yet for international troops, he said gains were being made in the increasingly difficult war and a pushback by insurgents had been expected ahead of an offensive by US and NATO troops on Taliban strongholds in the country’s south.
“Nothing has been easy in Afghanistan,” he said. “However, we can all take heart from the progress that has been made on the security front and beyond.”
Petraeus landed in Kabul on Friday after his appointment was confirmed by the US Senate and the US House of Representatives approved $33 billion in funding for a troop surge he hopes will turn the tide of the war.
The surge will bring to 150,000 the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan just as a new strategy takes root. It entails tackling the Taliban in the south while relying on the government to simultaneously improve local governance and development.
“We must demonstrate to the Afghan people and to the world that al-Qaeda and its network of extremist allies will not be allowed to once again establish sanctuaries in Afghanistan,” Petraeus said, calling again for unity between the government and international forces.
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