Afghan newspapers praise McChrystal

WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Many Afghan newspapers reacted unfavorably to the ouster of Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in the country.

There has also been pointed reaction to the McChrystal sacking in the media in Pakistan and China, excerpts of which were provided in a BBC roundup.

Rah-e Nejat, a private Afghan daily, said: "There is no doubt that General McChrystal is the most competent American general appointed to lead the Afghan war" as he realized the war does not have a military solution. It said his resignation "will deal a huge blow to the USA and its Western allies in the current situation."

The Afghan state-run Hewad described McChrystal as "an initiative general" who worked out "a clear strategy for Afghanistan."

But the Arman-e Melli said Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his brother requested the United States to let McChrystal continue because "some experts say McChrystal was not criticizing corruption in the Karzai government ..."

In an editorial, Pakistan's English daily Dawn said: "The general's remarks raise some worrying concerns, though. Are the field commanders and the administration in Washington on the same page vis-a-vis the fight against the Afghan Taliban? If they are not, can NATO forces ever be successful in quelling the insurgency? ... it is clear that the Afghan war is becoming more difficult by the day and blunders at this stage will not help."

Pakistan's Frontier Post said the McChrystal resignation "brings out poignantly the confusion and chaos" in the U.S. administration about the war. "What was expected to pull out a miracle and pacify a deeply troubled Afghanistan in just 18 months is turning out starkly a spectacular damp squib, showing not even a ray of hope ..."

The Pakistan Observer said the remarks of McChrystal should be seen "in the perspective of the ongoing war on terror, which has shattered minds and souls of not only those directly involved in fighting but also American general public opinion."

China's Communist Party paper People's Daily said the U.S. strategy of sending more troops and protecting civilians to win popular support had attained 'visible' progress this year. "As the main architect and implementer of the new strategy, McChrystal's withdrawal … at this time may increase the U.S. difficulty in stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan."