 | | | In shakeup, US names new commander for Afghan war (File) |
WASHINGTON (Agencies) American Defense Secretary Robert Gates sacked on Monday the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and said "new thinking" was required for the war there.
Gates, explaining his decision to replace General David McKiernan after less than a year on the job, said "that our mission there requires new thinking and new approaches from our military leaders."
"Today, we have a new policy set by our new president. We have a new strategy, a new mission, and a new ambassador," he told a news conference. "I believe that new military leadership also is needed."
" Nothing went wrong and there was nothing specific " American Defense Secretary Robert The defense secretary said his decision was taken with the approval of President Barack Obama, and after consulting with the head of U.S. Central Command, General David Petraeus, and top military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen.
He called for the U.S. Senate to quickly confirm his choice for the post, General Stanley McChrystal, and a new deputy commander, General David Rodriguez.
Gates, who was accompanied by Admiral Mullen at the press conference, said nothing had gone wrong in particular under McKiernan's tenure but that it was important to have a "fresh approach" to the war effort.
"Nothing went wrong and there was nothing specific," he said. "It simply was my conviction based on my consultations with Admiral Mullen and General Petraeus that a fresh approach, fresh look in the context of the new strategy probably was in our best interest." |  | Civilian deaths Sacked commander, General David McKiernan But the change followed a report revealing the death of dozens of Afghan civilians from U.S. air bombings of two villages in Western Farah province last week.
Hundreds of people marched yesterday in the Afghan capital Kabul in protest against the strikes prompting the Afghan President Hamid Karzai to call for immediate halt of NATO’s air raids.
In a sign of growing public unhappiness, Afghan lawmakers on Monday demanded legal restrictions on foreign forces fighting in their country, then closed for half a day to protest the attack. |
" We demand a complete end to the bombardment of our villages and we are very serious about it " Afghan president spokesman Siymak Herawi President Karzai, who went on U.S. television to demand an end to all air attacks, put the death toll at up to 130 people. If his figure is confirmed, it would be the biggest such case of Western forces killing civilians since they invaded in 2001.
His plea was rejected by White House National Security Advisor James Jones, who said the United States could not be expected to fight "with one hand tied behind our back."
Defense Secretary Gates echoed and endorsed Jones' remark, but said, "There is a tremendous effort going on, on our part, to try and avoid civilian casualties."
"The fact of the matter is, civilian casualties since January in Afghanistan are down 40 percent over a year ago during the same period," he said, adding that U.S., Afghan, and ISAF casualties were up 75 percent during that period.
But an issue that is already poisoning ties between Washington and Kabul may become even more toxic, as Karzai's team showed no signs of backing away from their call to end attacks.
"We demand a complete end to the bombardment of our villages ... and we are very serious about it," said presidential spokesman Siymak Herawi, when asked about Jones's comments. |
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