The dismissal of NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal was greeted with dismay in Kabul, where Afghans and foreign diplomats praised his bold efforts to reshape the war.
However, the Taliban vowed the change in command would not halt their fight against foreign troops, as NATO marked a grim milestone with June becoming the deadliest month for its soldiers since the war began almost nine years ago.
McChrystal’s counter-insurgency strategy, which brought sweeping changes aimed at cutting civilian casualties and winning over the population, had been credited with bringing some order to a chaotic and spriraling conflict.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government had publicly urged the White House not to remove McChrystal over disparaging remarks he made about officials in US President Barack Obama’s administration in a Rolling Stone profile.
A spokesman for Karzai — whose relations with the White House have been troubled — praised McChrystal as a “trusted partner of the Afghan people” and said his removal would “not be helpful” at this critical juncture.
Spokesman Waheed Omar, speaking before McChrystal’s removal on Wednesday, said Kabul believed the US general had made a mistake but it should not detract from the urgency of trying to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.
“For the continuation of the process in Afghanistan and the critical time that we’ve ahead — his presence is going to be greatly important.”
However, the Afghan government later said it respected Obama’s decision and welcomed the appointment of David Petraeus, the general credited with changing the direction of the Iraq conflict, to succeed McChrystal.
“His replacement General David Petraeus is someone who knows Afghanistan, who knows the region very well and is an experienced general,” Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said. “We are looking forward to working with him.”
NATO’s announcement of the deaths of four troops in a vehicle accident in southern Afghanistan made this month the deadliest single month for US-led foreign forces in the nearly nine-year conflict.
The incident brought to 79 the number of foreign troops who have died as a result of the conflict in Afghanistan so far this month.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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