McChrystal considers shift in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 16 (UPI) -- The strategy for Afghanistan may shift away from the remote regions of the country to protecting populated areas where the government has some control.

Washington is looking to change direction in Afghanistan following years of military preoccupation in Iraq. The shifting strategy is apparent in the change of leadership, as U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal takes over as the top military commander in Afghanistan.

McChrystal, a Special Forces expert schooled in the counterinsurgency doctrines employed in Iraq, said he was examining a shift away remote combat objectives to the urban centers in Afghanistan.

"We are going to look at those parts of the country that are most important -- and those typically, in an insurgency, are the population centers," he told The Washington Post.

His comments, however, come as international forces employed precision airstrikes last week on a remote outpost in the central Afghan province of Ghowr to take out an Iranian-backed Taliban commander, Mullah Mustafa.

Military officials have complained American combat forces are under-resourced in the remote areas of Afghanistan where many Taliban and other insurgents take refuge.

McChrystal, however, said he was wary of expending combat resources to areas out of reach of the central government, adding national reconstruction may be a better indicator of success than the number of insurgents.