Special ops guru put in charge of Afghan war

Special ops guru put in charge of Afghan war

au.news.yahoo.com

There has been a dramatic shake-up in how the United States is handling the war in Afghanistan , with the top US general in the country, David McKiernan, being asked to step down.

He is being replaced by Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal, the former head of special operations in Iraq and a man who is regarded as a specialist in the kind of counter-insurgency strategy the Obama administration plans to implement in Afghanistan .

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it's about time this war considered a "special operation".
perhaps it will lesson the toll on civilian populations in the area.

General McKiernan has only been in the job for 11 months.

Pressed for what had gone wrong, Mr Gates is not revealing much.

"Nothing went wrong and there was nothing specific," he said.

something difinately went wrong. especially with recent high civilian casualties and claims of white phosphorus being used.
i'd say that McKiernan sounds like a pretty lose cannon. the army in afghanistan follows orders... his orders.

apparantly a "fresh look" is needed to go with the "new stratagy".
how appealing can you make a war that's been going for over 6 years.

"The fresh US approach comes as an extra 21,000 American troops begin to arrive in Afghanistan ."



au.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

with the accuracy and ammount of snipers we have in our inventory, I can't see why they are not more widely used. Specific targets to demoralize the enemy and limit civilian incidents. Quiet, effective. I guess I just don't comprehend "boots on ground" theory. Small marine units would be much more effective than a brigade "show of force" that cannot be hidden. (IMHO) But maybe that is why I am not in charge.

all i can say about this is:
AWESOME. i hope this dramatically increases efficiency and effectiveness of our troops there.
maybe some major progress can be made now that someone with real experience in this type of thing is in charge