Mission Afghan

KABUL — President Hamid Karzai told the incoming commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan on Sunday that the most important part of his new mission was to protect Afghan civilians.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal takes up his command today. The four-star U.S. general, a former special forces commander, is expected to bring a fresh approach to an increasingly violent eight-year war.

President Barack Obama has increased the U.S. focus on Afghanistan, ordering 21,000 additional troops to the country.

Civilian casualties have long been a point of friction between Karzai and the U.S., and the warning reflects Karzai’s impatience over the killings of Afghan villagers during military operations.

Sunday, McChrystal assured Karzai that he would take "practical measures to prevent civilian casualties,” Karzai’s office said.



by the associated press