Top U.S. commander in Afghanistan Replaced

May 11, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert Gates will announce that he is swapping General David McKiernan with Lt. General Stanley McChrystal to be the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan. The change was actually motivated by Obama who wanted to fight and end the Taliban militants in Afghanistan. Before Gates left the trip, Gates indicated that the Taliban in Afghanistan are thorny to negotiate with because of so many cultural barriers and differences. He also noted that there are two kinds of soldiers there, there are the younger ones, working only to feed their families and others who are there because they are religiously committed. Gates is trying to sway some of the Taliban who were only in battles for pays from fighting. Gates had visited Afghanistan last week. McChrystal is currently in the position as the director of the Join Staff in Washington, D.C. and previously the leader of the Joint Special Operations Command in Fort bragg, North Carolina.
I was interested in this article because I want to know how was the fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Now, the U.S. is about to replace one of their important commanders with new blood. I am worried with their choice because they have to be cautious with their candidates, if this chosen candidate is not as competent as they thought he may be might result huge casualties. Also, this newly chosen commander did not have experience in conducting battles in Afghanistan, it might be an error of choosing him. I hope that their choice is worthy of leading their troops in Afghanistan. Also, I believe that Robert Gates is making a good point on trying to lure out some of the less committed Taliban who are fighting only to feed their families. By seeking those Taliban out, the U.S. could negotiate with them to join their side and move to the U.S., giving them a better payroll in the military service. This could allow the Taliban fighters to decrease while increasing the U.S. army at the same time. If I am the government, I would not choose a commander who did not even fight in Afghanistan. First, I will send the selected candidate to Afghanistan to fight as a high ranking lieutenant to fight with the commander. The commander will teach the lieutenant the territories and fighting tactics against the Taliban. I will also ask the commander to write reports about the lieutenant’s actions and see if he’s competent enough to become the ground zero’s commander. When the lieutenant is well taught by the commander and his actions were remarkable, then I would promote the lieutenant to be the commander. Good luck in Afghanistan, General McChrytsal.

hyperlink: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/11/afghanistan.replacement/index.html