BRUSSELS — The thousands of new U.S. troops deploying in Afghanistan can lessen the reliance on airstrikes that sometimes kill civilians and undermine support for the fight against the Taliban, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
As a meeting of NATO defense ministers, Gates said the accidental killing of Afghan civilians was “one of our greatest strategic vulnerabilities.” Reducing those is a primary assignment for the American general he picked to turn around the stalemated war, he said.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who will head the Afghan campaign, paid a courtesy call on NATO defense chiefs Friday as he headed to his first day on the job in Kabul.
“I assure you that I take the responsibility very, very seriously,” McChrystal told the ministers.
Gates fired his last commander and has said the war effort lacked focus and resources. He hand-picked McChrystal and named his own top military aide as the general’s deputy.
Gates said he wants better intelligence, more precise targeting and ground operations to lessen dependence on air power.
