Member Login Become a Member
Advertisement

Commander Maps New Course in Afghan War

  |  
06.12.2009 at 11:09am

Wall Street Journal senior national security correspondent Peter Spiegel dishes about his interview with the new US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal – the first interview with Gen. McChrystal since he was named to the job

Commander Maps New Course in Afghan War – Peter Spiegel, Wall Street Journal.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, in his first interview since being named the US commander in Afghanistan, said his front-row seat for the wars there and in Iraq has altered the view of combat he has held since training as a Green Beret to kill enemies quickly and stealthily.

After watching the US try and fail for years to put down insurgencies in both countries, Gen. McChrystal said he believes that to win in Afghanistan, “You’re going to have to convince people, not kill them.

“Since 9/11, I have watched as America tried to first put out this fire with a hammer, and it doesn’t work,” he said last week at his home at Fort McNair in Washington. “Decapitation strategies don’t work.”

In the interview, Gen. McChrystal noted he’s unsure whether the planned troop levels for the job he envisions will be adequate – despite the Obama administration’s commitment to raise the US presence to 68,000 by year’s end, to go along with 35,000 allied forces. Iraq surge commanders had more than 170,000 US forces…

More at The Wall Street Journal.

About The Author

Article Discussion: