Petraeus named to command Afghan war

WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) -- Gen. David Petraeus, named the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, assumes an assignment at a time when the ground situation is worsening.

The general, who helped save the situation in Iraq, will now take over the Afghan war, which in 2008 he said "would be a tougher fight," The New York Times reported.

U.S. President Barack Obama named Petraeus, currently head of the Central Command, to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who resigned Wednesday in the wake of negative comments he and his senior aides reportedly made to Rolling Stone magazine.

The Times reported the critical difference between Iran and Afghanistan is that in Iraq the general had to reverse the failed strategy of his predecessors. In Afghanistan, he must continue and oversee the counterinsurgency strategy he developed with McChrystal.

Additional challenges in Afghanistan include the fact that it is already a war-ravaged country with little physical infrastructure and a most inhospitable terrain.

The Afghan war is not going well for the coalition forces despite Obama's plans to add 30,000 troops as violence by the insurgents has risen sharply.

The planned campaign in Kandahar, the birth place of the Taliban, is not winning public support while Afghan President Hamid Karzai remains unpredictable, the report said.

A former Petraeus aide told the Times: "The policy is to make everyone feel safer, reconcile with those who are willing and kill the people you need to."