Petraeus Seeks Unity in Afghan Effort - The New York Times
Asia Pacific|Petraeus Seeks Unity in Afghan Effort
Petraeus Seeks Unity in Afghan Effort
By Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Sharifullah Sahak
KABUL, Afghanistan  Less than two weeks after his predecessor was abruptly fired for comments highlighting deep frictions among President Obama’s war advisers, the incoming American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus, used his first public appearance here on Saturday to underscore the need to “achieve unity of effort and common purpose.”
General Petraeus, who arrived here Friday evening and is scheduled to assume command in Kabul on Sunday, used brief remarks during an appearance at the American Embassy to suggest that the war could never be a success without close relationships among American, NATO and Afghan leaders.
“In this important endeavor, teamwork is not an option,” the general said. “This is a tough mission,” he added. “There is nothing easy about it.”
Gen. David H. Petraeus, left, the new American military commander in Afghanistan, spoke at an Independence Day celebration Saturday at the United States Embassy in Kabul, followed by Karl W. Eikenberry, right, the ambassador to Afghanistan.Credit...Adam Ferguson for The New York Times
The former commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, was fired last month after the publication of a Rolling Stone magazine article in which he and his aides were quoted criticizing or disparaging members of the Obama administration. General Petraeus, who commanded American troops in Iraq several years ago and then took charge of the United States Central Command in Tampa, Fla., where he was General McChrystal’s boss, was immediately appointed by President Obama to take over in Kabul.
He faces a deepening challenge in Afghanistan, where American and NATO casualties are rising and the Taliban have shown resilience against growing military operations that began last year as tens of thousands of additional troops arrived.
At the same time, there is growing concern over the corruption within President Hamid Karzai’s government, which many in the Pashtun-dominated south and east, where the Taliban is strong, view as a less effective system of governance than the Taliban, which controlled most of the country before the American invasion in late 2001.
As if to underscore the depth of Taliban control, Afghan authorities reported on Saturday that as many as 50 tribal elders and others had been abducted on Friday by militants wearing Afghan security force uniforms in a remote district of Khost Province, near the border with Pakistan.
Five of the villagers  including four former government workers  have been killed, while 10 remain in captivity, said the provincial police chief. The other 35 were released, he said.