U.S. Army General David Petraeus formally assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in Afghanistan on Sunday, declaring “we are in this to win” despite rising casualties and growing scepticism about the nearly nine-year-old war.
During a ceremony at NATO headquarters, General Petraeus received two flags “one for the U.S. and the other for NATO” marking his formal assumption of command.
He said it was important to demonstrate to the Afghan people and world that Al-Qaeda and its extremist allies will not be allowed to again establish sanctuaries in Afghanistan from which they could launch attacks on the United States and other countries.
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“We are in this to win,” General Petraeus told a crowd of several hundred NATO and Afghan officials at the ceremony held on a grassy area just outside coalition headquarters. “We have arrived at a critical moment.”
General Petraeus succeeded General Stanley McChrystal, who was fired last month for intemperate remarks he and his aides made to Rolling Stone magazine about Obama administration officials who were mostly on the civilian side.
“Upfront I also want to recognise the enormous contributions of my predecessor, General Stanley McChrystal,” General Petraeus said. He said the progress made reflected General McChrystal's “vision, energy and leadership.”
General Petraeus said the change in command did not signal a radical shift in General McChrystal's strategy of making the protection of the Afghan people the focus of the military mission. He stressed the importance of avoiding civilian casualties, but said he would examine the civilian and military policies “to determine where refinements might be needed”.
That suggested he would review the rules under which NATO soldiers fight, including General McChrystal's curbs on the use of airpower and heavy weapons if civilians are at risk. Some troops have complained such restraint puts their own lives at risk and hands the battlefield advantage to the Taliban and their allies.
General Petraeus, widely credited with turning around the U.S. war effort in Iraq, faces rising violence and growing doubts in Washington and other allied capitals about the effectiveness of the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, which the general himself pioneered.
General Petraeus met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday. Corruption was one of the issues the two discussed, according to a statement issued by the presidential palace.