The nine-year war in Afghanistan has reached a critical stage, US General David Petraeus said, as he formally took command of the 150,000-strong NATO-led force.
‘We are engaged in a tough fight. After years of war we have arrived at a critical moment,’ Gen Petraeus told guests at a ceremony at the International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul.
‘We all recognise the threat that the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the other associated syndicate of extremists pose to this country, this region and to the world,’ he said.
Gen Petraeus was appointed last week to lead all foreign forces in Afghanistan after his predecessor, General Stanley McChrystal, was dismissed for insulting remarks he and aides made about the US administration in a magazine interview.
The shift comes at a time when the Taliban is at its strongest since being overthrown in 2001, and with ISAF casualties mounting daily.
Gen Petraeus told senior commanders and several Afghan ministers that his appointment signalled a change in command, not strategy.
Despite last month being the bloodiest yet for international troops, he said gains were being made in the increasingly difficult war and a pushback by insurgents had been expected ahead of an offensive by US and NATO troops on Taliban strongholds in the country's south.
‘Nothing has been easy in Afghanistan,’ he said.
‘However, we can all take heart from the progress that has been made on the security front and beyond.’
Gen Petraeus landed in Kabul on Friday after his appointment was confirmed by the US Senate and the US House of Representatives approved $33bn in funding for a troop surge he hopes will turn the tide of the war.
