McKiernan out as Afghanistan commander

[jefferson_dem]

McKiernan out as Afghanistan commander

By Anne Gearan - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 11, 2009 13:06:47 EDT

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will replace its top general in Afghanistan as President Obama tries to turn around a stalemated war, defense officials said.

The exit of Gen. David McKiernan comes as more than 21,000 additional U.S. forces begin to arrive in Afghanistan, dispatched by President Barack Obama to confront the Taliban more forcefully this spring and summer.

McKiernan, on the job about a year, has asked repeatedly for additional forces. Obama’s revamped strategy for Afghanistan does markedly increase the number of U.S. forces in the country but focuses on nonmilitary solutions as a better long-term solution.

Military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said McKiernan will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was likely to announce the new leadership in Afghanistan later Monday, an official said.

Obama has approved a new strategy for Afghanistan and Gates wants new leadership to carry it out, the defense official said.

McKiernan was named to his post by former President Bush.

<SNIP>

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/ap_afghanistan_mckiernan_051109/

[grantcart]

1. CNN was also reporting that Gates had asked for his resignation

The more I see Gates the more I like him. Not the first time he has cashiered major brass.

[Thrill]

2. Anyone see when a reporter asked Mullen and Gates if Holbrooke had anything to do with it

They both looked like "What the hell are you talking about, Why would he have anything to do with this"

It was hilarious. Mullen really had this "Are you fucking kidding me?" look.

[ljm2002]

3. My guess about this...

...is that Obama got tired of hearing about civilian casualties during our military operations over there. Reading between the lines here, about "a new approach"...

I guess we'll hear a lot more about this over the next few weeks.

[jefferson_dem]

4. Very interesting - Petraeus' "Black Ops" Man to Afghanistan

Petraeus' "Black Ops" Man to Afghanistan

In a surprise move, the top U.S. general in Afganistan, David McKiernan, is out and Iraq special ops man Stanley McChrystal takes over the good war. Newsweek did a quick snapshot back in 2006:

He isn't even listed in the directory at Fort Bragg, N.C., his home base. That's not because McChrystal has done anything wrong--quite the contrary, he's one of the Army's rising stars--but because he runs the most secretive force in the U.S. military. That is the Joint Special Operations Command, the snake-eating, slit-their-throats "black ops" guys who captured Saddam Hussein and targeted Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.

--Michael Crowley

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/05/11/petraeus-quot-black-ops-quot-man-to-afghanistan.aspx

[Cha]

6. Sounds like progress..thanks to

all the contributions of information on this thread.

[Ikonoklast]

5. If we had used all the treasure wasted on the Iraq fiasco

to build roads, schools, hospitals, clean water and sanitation plants, agricultural improvements, etc., we would have been out of Afghanistan by now and still would have billions of dollars left over.

But there is money to be made in chaos.

[Cha]

7. Yeah, that needs to be thrown back in

dick cheney's face when he's busy "embolding the enemy".