Pentagon names new top commander in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON. May 12. KAZINFORM The U.S. Defense Department Monday named a new top commander in Afghanistan as the country is looking at a new direction to fight against Taliban insurgency; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a press conference that he has asked for resignation of Army General David McKiernan, who was named to the post by the Bush administration less than a year ago. The Pentagon chief also recommended Army Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal, a former special forces commander, to take the position that commands and monitors 45,000 U.S. troops and 32,000 other forces from other NATO countries now in Afghanistan. Lieutenant General David Rodriguez, who used to command the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in a counterinsurgency effort in the eastern Afghanistan, was also named as the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. "This is the right time to make the change," Gates said after he returned from a trip to Afghanistan. "The way I look at this is as McChrystal and Rodriguez as a team"; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version
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