WASHINGTON — Gen. David Petraeus was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday as the new Afghan war commander, replacing Gen. Stanley McChrystal after his ouster over controversial remarks in a Rolling Stone magazine article.
The 99-0 Senate vote followed a confirmation hearing Tuesday in which members of the Senate Armed Services Committee praised Petraeus’ leadership of the war in Iraq and lauded him as the nation’s premier warrior-diplomat.
President Barack Obama released a statement expressing gratitude for the swift confirmation.
“General Petraeus is a pivotal part of our effort to succeed in Afghanistan — and in our broader effort to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda — and he has my full confidence,” the president said.
Petraeus told the committee members that the Afghan war, which he said is being waged against “an industrial- strength insurgency,” is likely to get worse before it gets better.
“My sense is that the tough fighting will continue,” Petraeus said. “Indeed, it may get more intense.”
Petraeus said he would adhere to McChrystal’s strategy of trying to avoid civilian deaths in Afghanistan, a keystone of the U.S. military’s counterinsurgency approach. But in a nod to U.S. troops who have complained that McChrystal tied their hands by limiting tactics, Petraeus said he would “look very hard” at how directives issued by the former commander were being implemented.
In addition to discussing his strategy, Petraeus took care, both inside and outside the hearing room, to show how he would try to avoid the rifts among the U.S. military, senior civilian leadership and the Afghan government that in the end led to McChrystal’s undoing.
As he drove to the hearing, for example, Petraeus had his third phone conversation in less than a week with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Afterward, he flew home to Tampa, Fla., where he hosted Vice President Joe Biden and his wife for dinner.
Petraeus told lawmakers he has also reached out to Richard Holbrooke, the administration’s top diplomat on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and will pick up Ambassador Karl Eikenberry en route to Kabul so that the two can arrive there together.
“We are all firmly united in seeking to forge unity of effort,” Petraeus said.
McChrystal’s removal came after Rolling Stone reported disparaging comments from the general and his team about Biden, Holbrooke, Eikenberry and others, highlighting long-standing disagreements between civilian and military officials over the conduct of the war.
