US tries to reassure allies after McChrystal was sacked

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, departed late Thursday for a tour of Afghanistan and Pakistan to reassure the region’s leaders that the war effort will not stop despite the departure of General Stanley McChrystal.

"My message will be clear. Nothing changes about our strategy. Nothing changes about the mission," said Mullen, the day after McChrystal was forced to step down as a commander of the NATO-led force over disrespectful remarks about administration officials in a bombshell magazine article earlier this week.

McChrystal's attitude was deemed as "unacceptable", Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at a press conference.  He continued to say the President Barack Obama choosing General David Petraeus as the new commander was the "best possible outcome to an awful situation."

The defense secretary said he fully supported the change in command and that allies or adversaries should not "misinterpret" the decision as a softening of the US’ commitment to the war and that there was in movement in the war in Afghanistan

Obama said Petraeus not only has a vast experience in Iraq and that he has helped with the writing for the manual for dealing with insurgencies, but he “also is intimately familiar with the players.”

Obama faced calls from some lawmakers to shake up the diplomatic team for Afghanistan, which they said was needed to repair strained military-civilian relations and bolster ties with Karzai's government.

McChrystal's strategy entailed pouring tens of thousands of extra troops into Afghanistan to win over civilians and train local forces.  His dismissal as NATO commander was met with dismay in Kabul, where Afghans and foreign diplomats praised his bold efforts to change the course of the war.

The dismissal of NATO commander General McChrystal was met with dismay in Kabul, where Afghans and foreign diplomats praised his bold efforts to change the course of the war.