Relief greets Obama pick for new war commander

in the West is waning.

Still,the jury is out on whether the counterinsurgency strategy that Petraeus used to turn around the Iraq war will show results in Afghanistan by July 2011,when Obama wants to begin withdrawing US troops.

The split between the US civilian and military team in Afghanistan has not disappeared with McChrystal8217;s departure. Those fissures,laid bare in disparaging remarks to Rolling Stone magazine,led to McChrystal8217;s dismissal Wednesday.

Petraeus inherits myriad challenges. Among them: 8211; Eighty international troops have died so far this month,making June the deadliest month of the nearly 9-year-old war.

8211; A major offensive in Helmand province earlier this year has yielded mixed results. McChrystal himself acknowledged that the security campaign already under way in neighboring Kandahar province is going more slowly than expected.

8211; While NATO has worked hard to train a growing number of Afghan soldiers and police,their ability to go it alone without their more skilled NATO partners at their side has yet to be tested.

The politically savvy Petraeus probably would have a better shot at convincing Obama that the strategy needs more time and slow the withdrawal of US troops. Petraeus helped train the Iraqi army and is on a first-name basis with defense officials in capitals that provide troops to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan.

Initially,NATO leaders in Brussels played down the Rolling Stone article,which suggested that powerful players in the Obama administration still disagree on the unproven US counterinsurgency

strategy of routing the Taliban,securing major population centers,

bolstering the Afghan government8217;s effectiveness and rushing in aid

and development.

They were relieved when Obama selected Petraeus,who pioneered the same basic counterinsurgency strategy when he commanded US forces in Iraq.

8220;The strategy continues to have NATO8217;s support and our forces will continue to carry it out,8221; NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement. 8220;We will stay for as long as it

takes to do our job.8221;

Some critics have questioned whether a strategy aimed at bolstering the Afghan government can ever succeed in a country with ethnic divisions and a history of tribal rule.

8220;The situation in Afghanistan is in obvious disarray and it8217;s not because of personnel. It8217;s because of policy,8221; said US Rep Dana Rohrabacher,R-Calif. 8220;The frustration expressed by McChrystal

and his aides highlights the failure of our current policy in

Afghanistan.8221;

Despite those doubts,there is simply not enough time to recraft the strategy before Obama8217;s July 2011 withdrawal date.

8220;This is not the time for a new commander to come in to rethink strategy,8221; said Malcolm Chalmers of Britain8217;s Royal United Services

Institute,a British think tank.

The prospect of having to deal with a third NATO commander in little over a year was an unwelcome prospect for Afghan leaders,who had spent months building rapport with McChrystal,the lanky

commander who had become President Hamid Karzai8217;s most trusted US partner.

They had expressed hope that Obama wouldn8217;t fire McChrystal,but in the end,internal US politics trumped their desires.

8220;Gen. McChrystal was a fine soldier and a partner for the Afghan

people,8221; Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said. 8220;But we believe Gen

Petraeus will also be a trusted partner.8221;

Omar said the Afghan leadership hoped replacing McChrystal would not impede progress in the war.

8220;We know Gen. Petraeus. He knows the country. He knows the strategy,8221; Omar said. 8220;He is the most informed person and the most

obvious choice for this job.8221;

The sentiment was echoed in Western diplomatic circles in Kabul,where foreign officials were skittish about prospects of a McChrystal departure 8211; 13 months after Defense Secretary Robert Gates sacked Gen. David McKiernan,saying the mission needed a fresh approach.

Vygaudas Usackas,head of the European Union delegation in Afghanistan,said McChrystal was the right man at the right time for

the job.

8220;I think he really was a pioneering commander for changing the paradigm of the military engagement in Afghanistan to being about protecting the people and talking to communities,8221; Usackas said,adding that he didn8217;t think the switch would disrupt the mission.

8220;Stan has done a tremendous job. He was a great leader. He made a

mistake 8211; a big mistake.8221;

The NATO headquarters in Kabul was quiet throughout the day,waiting for Obama8217;s decision. The staff knew McChrystal could lose

his job but were stunned when it actually happened. Troops and

civilians working there said an unsettled mood during the day turned

somber when they learned they8217;d lost their leader.

Senior officials quickly preached the need for a smooth changeover in command.

8220;The campaign remains on course,8221; said Mark Sedwill,NATO8217;s senior civilian representative to Afghanistan.

A top official told his staff that while they8217;d lost a good commander,they should focus on the troops risking their lives to bring stability to the nation. One of those at the meeting,speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussion was private,said the message was 8220;We can8217;t let this campaign skip a beat.8221;

The greatest fallout from the McChrystal controversy is the perception it creates in the minds of Afghan citizens,said Nader

Nadery,deputy director of the Human Rights Commission in Kabul. He fears it will convince Afghans that the NATO mission is not led by a united team of professionals but by a US team seemingly at war with itself.

8220;It is certainly not helpful,8221; he said. 8220;The Taliban will create the perception among people,saying: 8216;Look,they are not going to win. They are all in disagreement.8221;