McChrystal: Afghanistan War

Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the nominee to succeed Gen. David McKiernan as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, expressed cautious optimism about the chances for success during a June 2 confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "The measure of effectiveness will not be enemy killed," said McChrystal, whose selection for the job marked a shift in strategy. "It will be the number of Afghans shielded from violence." He promised to take steps to ensure that future air and ground operations will focus more closely on specific targets, and hopefully avoid inadvertent civilian deaths and property destruction. McChrystal also said he could not guarantee that the additional 21,000 troops scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan this fall would be sufficient to sustain operations.