Monday, May 11, 2009

Changing the Guard: New Direction in Afghanistan

SecDef Gates fired Gen. McKiernan as commander of the US troops and NATO forces in Afghanistan and replaced him with Gen. Stanley McChrystal--a striking move since firing four star generals does not happen too often. Fred Kaplan has an interesting early take on this, but I disagree with the final line: that this war will determine the status of the administration. It is an important war, but Kaplan forgets that the economy is and will be the highest priority of Obama and everyone at home.

One question to follow--did Gates and Obama consult at all with the NATO partners since the new commander will also be commanding NATO troops in ISAF.

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