Gates Axes Top General in Afghan War

Why the Pentagon Axed Its Afghan Warlord

(TIME) – Public beheadings in Afghanistan are usually associated with the Taliban, but it was Defense Secretary Robert Gates metaphorically wielding the axe from the Pentagon platform. Gates announced that he had asked for and requested the resignation of his top commander in Afghanistan, Army General David McKiernan, after only 11 months in that theater. The 37-year veteran will be replaced by Army Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal. Army Lieutenant General David Rodriguez, the Defense Secretary’s own top military aide, is to serve in a newly created post as McChrystal’s deputy.

The move was yet another dose of accountability from Gates, who has previously cashiered officers for failing to tend to hospitalized troops or to secure nuclear weapons. But Monday’s action was more momentous: It marked the first time a civilian has fired a wartime commander since President Harry Truman ousted General Douglas MacArthur in 1951 for questioning Truman’s Korean War strategy.

The Obama Administration has made Afghanistan the central front in the war on terror over the past month, it had concluded that McKiernan’s tenure there had involved too much wheel-spinning even as the Taliban extended its reach. There was not enough of the “new thinking” demanded by Gates. “It’s time for new leadership and fresh eyes,” Gates said, refusing to elaborate. He noted that Joints Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, and General David Petraeus, who as chief of U.S. Central Command oversees the Afghan war, had endorsed the move.

Introducing Lt. Gen. McChrystal, counter-insurgency specialist

(The Guardian) – The Pentagon declined to say why McKiernan was being replaced. But the change comes as General David Petraeus, who oversees military strategy for the region, is implementing Obama’s new strategic plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, announcing the change at a Pentagon press conference, said there was a time for “new thinking” on Afghanistan.

Gates said McKiernan had done nothing wrong, but there was a feeling that there was a need for a fresh look. His removal came a week after at least 100 Afghan civilians died in a US air strike in Farah province.

McKiernan had been repeatedly asking for a significant increase in US or other Nato forces in Afghanistan, saying he needed at least 30,000 more troops for what he warned was going to be a tough 12 months.

Obama gave him only two thirds of that, and this included troops who would not have a combat role but instead are to train Afghan forces. It may be that it was felt that McKiernan was too old-fashioned in his thinking.

Lieutenant-General McChrystal, his replacement, has spent most of his career behind the scenes in special forces and has led operations aimed at targeting particular individuals, such as the one that resulted in the killing of the al-Qaida leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in 2006.

McChrystal has built his reputation on coordinating various strands of intelligence in a ruthless pursuit of enemies.

The switch comes only weeks after Obama announced the outcome of a review of policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

As part of that, Obama indicated he wanted a more focused counter-insurgency approach, which would suit McChrystal more, and is sending an extra 21,000 US troops to Afghanistan.