KABUL, Afghanistan — Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a former top special operations commander, took charge of nearly 90,000 U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan on Monday, telling them they must protect Afghan civilians from all kinds of violence.
McChrystal takes over the Afghan campaign at a critical moment: violence, troop levels and U.S. military deaths have all hit record highs, and President Hamid Karzai has pressured on U.S. forces to prevent civilian deaths.
McChrystal is expected to take a more unconventional approach to the increasingly violent campaign in Afghanistan, relying on decades of experience with special operators — elite military units such as Navy SEALs and Army’s Delta Force that carry out dangerous and secretive missions.
"The Afghan people are at the center of our mission. ... We must protect them from violence, whatever its nature,” the general told several hundred troops in central Kabul.
President Barack Obama has ordered 21,000 new troops to Afghanistan. There is expected to be about 68,000 U.S. troops in the country by the end of the year.
by the associated press
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