Petraeus: 'We Are in This to Win'

ALAN CULLISON PETER SPIEGEL

European Pressphoto Agency

Gen. David Petraeus, left,receives NATO's International Security Assistance Force flag in Kabul.

KABUL—Gen. David Petraeus took command of coalition forces under the pine trees near NATO headquarters in the Afghan capital Sunday, and called on civilian and military leaders to unite in their support for the war and show "we are in this to win."

Despite mounting casualties and a stiff insurgency, Gen. Petraeus vowed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization coalition had a long-term commitment to Afghanistan and that "neither insurgents nor our partners in the region should doubt that."

Petraeus: War at Critical Stage

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U.S. General David Petraeus said the Afghan war is at a critical stage, as he took command of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan. Video Courtesy of Reuters.

The suddenness of Gen. Petraeus's assumption of command in Kabul was evident in who was absent from the ceremony, in which he accepted the colors of the U.S. and NATO: Gen. Stanley McChrystal, his predecessor who was fired by President Barack Obama just over a week ago for making remarks that belittled some senior administration civilians in a Rolling Stone magazine article.

Since his arrival in Kabul Friday, Gen. Petraeus has made soothing the rancor among top U.S. officials a prominent theme of his public appearances, including attending a U.S. Embassy reception over the weekend hosted by Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, a skeptic of the troop surge who Gen. McChrystal openly criticized in the Rolling Stone piece. Gen. Petraeus called Amb. Eikenberry his "Ranger buddy"—a reference to both men's past tenure with the elite Army Rangers—and said he planned to work closely with the U.S. envoy, who himself is a former military commander in Afghanistan.

As if to reinforce the point, in his 11-minute address Sunday—made before the top echelon of coalition forces in Afghanistan, many of whom were appointed by Gen. McChrystal—Gen. Petraeus said "cooperation is not optional" and added that civilian and military efforts are "part of one team with one mission."

The change in command comes at a time that senior Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. Petraeus himself, have acknowledged progress isn't going as quickly as anticipated, prompting a renewed debate over the wisdom of Mr. Obama's decision to begin withdrawing troops in July 2011. For the first time on Sunday, a senior Afghan official entered the fray, with Said Jawad, the Afghan ambassador to the U.S., saying the deadline was unhelpful to the war effort and could actually make the U.S.-led effort more difficult.

Speaking on the CNN program "State of the Union," Amb. Jawad said the declared deadline sent the wrong message to the Taliban and the U.S. should instead commit publicly that it will remain in Afghanistan "to finish the job."

"If you overemphasize a deadline that is not realistic, you are making the enemy a lot more bold," Mr. Jawad said. "You are prolonging the war."

The July 2011 deadline has been the war plan's most controversial element since it was unveiled by Mr. Obama in his war strategy in December.

In his address, Gen. Petraeus avoided any direct mention of the date, but said NATO was looking forward to Afghan forces taking more responsibility for security, and that "certainly the character of our commitment will change over time."

In his confirmation hearings last week, Gen. Petraeus acknowledged that the July 2011 date wasn't one that was proposed by the uniformed military. At the same time, he said he agreed with the deadline as a way to give the Afghan government a sense of urgency.

Still, Republican war supporters continued to hammer at the issue on Sunday, with Arizona Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, saying the deadline has sowed confusion in the region.

"I'm all for dates of withdrawal, but that's after the strategy succeeds, not before," Mr. McCain said on the ABC News program "This Week" during a visit to Kabul. "That's a dramatic difference. And I can tell you for sure, our people in the region are not sure whether we are going to be here after the middle of 2011, whether we have succeeded or not."

The administration has worked hard in recent weeks to emphasize that any withdrawal will be based on conditions on the ground and that it doesn't necessarily mark the beginning of a large-scale drawdown.

But Mr. Jawad appeared to agree with Republican critics, saying it has raised questions about whether the U.S. is fully committed to winning the war. "If that's not the feeling, we lose the support of the Afghan people and also make the neighboring countries who have an interest a lot more bolder to interfere in Afghanistan," Mr. Jawad said.

Gen. Petraeus acknowledged that his appointment as commander in Afghanistan came at a "critical moment" as both casualties and the number of coalition troops in the country are peaking. Some front-line troops have bristled at rules of engagement put in place by Gen. McChrystal, which restricted their ability to go after insurgents in some scenarios out of a desire by U.S. commanders to avoid civilian casualties.

Gen. Petraeus has said he would review the rules, but in a letter to soldiers under his command issued Sunday, he wrote that while they must continue "killing, capturing or turning the insurgents," civilian casualties would continue to be a priority for his command. "We must also continue our emphasis on reducing the loss of innocent civilian life to an absolute minimum," Gen. Petraeus wrote. "We must never forget that the decisive terrain in Afghanistan is the human terrain."