KABUL — Ten days after his predecessor was fired over remarks that laid bare a dysfunctional civilian-military relationship, the new American commander in Afghanistan sought Saturday to put a unified face on the U.S.-led war effort.
In his first remarks in Kabul as the top American commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus said that “in this important endeavor, cooperation is not optional.”
He and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who presides over the world’s largest American diplomatic mission, used brief remarks to drive home the message that they would heed President Barack Obama’s stern order to put aside internal rivalries.
“Civilian and military, Afghan and international, we are a part of one team, with one mission,” Petraeus said at a gathering of hundreds of guests at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as part of a Fourth of July ceremony.
The smiles and declarations of synergy came as Petraeus prepared to formally assume command today of a 130,000- strong international force at a time of rising casualties and growing doubt about how much can be achieved before July 2011, when President Barack Obama wants to begin withdrawing U.S. troops.
Petraeus replaces fellow four-star Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who had led the war effort for the past year. McChrystal’s military career was abruptly ended by remarks made by him and top aides in an explosive profile that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine.
Recent days have brought a concerted effort to set a new tone. On Saturday morning, Eikenberry called Petraeus, his former West Point schoolmate and fellow Army Ranger, a “great friend” and handed him his “very own United States embassy access badge.”
Petraeus said he would work to improve coordination between troops on the battlefield and civilians trying to bolster the Afghan government and improve the lives of the people.
His message to the Afghans in the audience: “Your success is our success.”
Petraeus, widely credited with turning around the U.S. war effort in Iraq, faces rising violence and growing doubts in Washington and other allied capitals about the effectiveness of the counterinsurgency strategy, which the general himself pioneered.
June was the deadliest month for the allied force since the war began in October 2001 with 102 deaths, more than half of them Americans.
Later, Petraeus met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who asked him to review international contracts for private security companies to help keep money from flowing out of the country. According to the statement, Petraeus told the president that he would begin his job by emphasizing “unity, accountability and transparency.”
Petraeus was to formally assume command at a ceremony today at the Kabul headquarters of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.
