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| Afghanistan |
| Afghans do not expect change from US shake-up |
| 2010-06-25 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Afghanistan expressed regret on Thursday at the removal of the U.S. commander credited with reducing civilian casualties in the war against the Taliban but said it did not expect his replacement to change strategy. U.S. President Barack Obama recalled General Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and replaced him on Wednesday with his boss, General David Petraeus, architect of the Iraq war turnaround. McCrystal resigned after comments, mostly attributable to aides, appeared in a magazine article that criticised some of Obama's closest advisers. The article portrayed McChrystal as a daring soldier sometimes exasperated by politicians. "We wish he hadn't gone, but this is America's internal issue," said General Zaher Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry. "We expect him to follow McChrystal's assessment, which has reduced civilian casualties, brought down arrests and house searches and involved coordination on operations," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |