War hero General David Petraeus takes over from General Stanley McChrystal, who resigned at the White House over disparaging remarks he made about top officials in President Barack Obama's administration in a magazine interview.

"Since it was a US government internal decision we respect it. His replacement General David Petraeus is someone who knows Afghanistan, who knows the region very well and is an experienced general," Karzai's spokesman Waheed Omar told AFP.

"We are looking forward to working with him," he added.

Earlier in the day the spokesman said Karzai -- whose relations with the White House have also been troubled -- was confident in the commander and replacing him "would not be helpful" at a critical point in the nine-year war.

"We'd hoped that it would not happen because General McChrystal was a great partner of the Afghan government and a trusted partner of the Afghan people," Omar said.

In a NATO forces statement, McChrystal said he had submitted his resignation to Obama and that it had "been my privilege and honor to lead our nation's finest".

"I strongly support the president's strategy in Afghanistan and am deeply committed to our coalition forces, our partner nations, and the Afghan people," he said.

"It was out of respect for this commitment -- and a desire to see the mission succeed -- that I tendered my resignation," McChrystal said.

NATO's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan Mark Sedwill called McChrystal "one of the finest men I have ever known" who "was pivotal in creating and driving forward NATO's strategy in Afghanistan".

"This strategy remains the basis of the campaign. The campaign remains on course. The Afghan people should have no doubt of our commitment to building a stable Afghanistan and a safer world," Sedwill said.

Vygaudas Usackas, European Union special envoy to Afghanistan, told AFP McChrystal had been "very appreciated" by the international community.

"He will be remembered in his role of shaping a new paradigm for the military in defence of civilians and empowering the Afghan nation in this very fragile, demanding environment," Usackas said.

But another Western diplomat in Kabul doubted that the content of the Rolling Stone article was the sole reason for McChrystal's demise.

"There must be something else because you don't dismiss your top man over a news story. This sort of thing happens all the time," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

"There must be something else. He was really very well regarded in Kabul, in Afghanistan. It is utterly depressing," he said, adding, however, that "Petreaus is a good move".

Earlier, spokesman Omar said Kabul believed the general had made a mistake but it should not detract from the urgency of trying to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, where McChrystal oversaw about 142,000 troops.

"We agree this was a mistake, we also agree that we're all prone to make mistakes. In the past nine years there have mistakes made in Afghanistan.

"But for the continuation of the process in Afghanistan and the critical time that we've ahead -- his presence is going to be greatly important."

Karzai himself faced criticism this month over sacking his intelligence chief and interior minister -- two of Afghanistan's top security officials and admired in the West -- after a rocket attack on a landmark peace meeting.

But the presidency credited McChrystal with helping to "increase the level of trust" with the Afghan people since he assumed command last year.

Karzai and Obama have endured months of discord and worsening relations, but made an effort to present a united front during the Afghan leader's last visit to Washington on May 12.

Last December, Obama announced he was sending an extra 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan in an effort to regain the upper hand against the Taliban, but said he would being withdrawing troops from the country in mid-2011.

earlier related report
McChrystal dismissal causes unease at NATO
Brussels (AFP) June 23, 2010 - General Stanley McChrystal's replacement caused unease among some NATO allies Wednesday, concerned that it sends a bad signal after he masterminded a strategy to tackle the Taliban in Afghanistan.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen had on Tuesday backed the alliance's commander in Afghanistan, amid a storm over an interview in which McChrystal criticised the White House.

"We are in the middle of a very real conflict, and the Secretary General has full confidence in General McChrystal as the NATO commander, and in his strategy," Rasmussen's spokesman had said.

But on Wednesday US President Barack Obama decided such insubordination could not be tolerated and McChrystal duly resigned.

Rasmussen swiftly sought to assure that McChrystal's strategy would survive his departure.

"While he will no longer be the commander, the approach he helped put in place is the right one. The strategy continues to have NATO's support, and our forces will continue to carry it out." Rasmussen stressed in a statement.

"The Afghan people should have no doubt that we will continue to carry out our mission in partnership with them," he added.

In private, several NATO delegations in Brussels had expected McChrystal's removal, deeming his position untenable after Rolling Stone magazine published an interview in which he and his aides derided top administration officials and spoke dismissively of Obama.

However there was regret that he had been left with no choice but to go just because of some ill-judged remarks to a reporter.

German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told German television that McChrystal was "a guarantor of the new strategy in Afghanistan," before the announcement of the US general's resignation.

Zu Guttenberg warned that NATO forces were facing a "very tough summer" and that the alliance needed steady leadership during a potentially very bloody period.

The US president faced a dilemma as McChrystal was the architect of a new strategy that included a surge of 40,000 extra troops in the war-torn country.

"You're faced with the problem that if you sack him you're going to sack the mastermind behind the new strategy in Afghanistan, so you'd be facing the argument that you're weakening the effort," a NATO diplomat said.

"If you don't sack him then you're being OK with the general criticising the political leadership. So you're damned if you do, damned if you don't," the diplomat said.

Another diplomat said McChrystal's departure meant the loss of an excellent general during a moment that is not at all easy in Afghanistan".

"We fear that it would leave a void," the diplomat added.

The scandal arose at a delicate time for the alliance, which is hoping to take back the initiative in the war against the Taliban with its new counter-insurgency strategy.

McChrystal's plan seeks to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan population and pave the way for the transfer of security responsibilities to the Afghan army and police.

The ultimate goal is to begin the drawdown of international troops. The NATO mission counts around 120,000 soldiers from 45 countries.

"The question is whether Washington really supports the General McChrystal's counter-insurgency strategy or not," said a NATO military official, who requested anonymity.

"If there is a real disagreement on the strategy to follow between the commander of ISAF and the US executive branch, this could pose a problem for the future, particularly for US allies in Afghanistan," the official said.

McChrystal's hastily named replacement, General David Petraeus, will have to deal with that one.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News