New US general takes command in Afghanistan

Stanley McChrystal, a four-star general, who commanded the Special Forces in Iraq, replaced general David McKiernan during a low-profile ceremony at the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in central Kabul on Monday morning, an alliance spokesman said.

General McKiernan, was removed by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates after less than a year in job as the US military was accused of one of its deadliest incidents involving civilians since the 2001 invasion. Gates said the mission in Afghanistan needed 'fresh thinking' and new approaches.

Gen McChrystal will command 56,000 US troops and 32,000 Nato-led forces currently in the country, and will also oversee US President Barack Obama's new strategy of increasing troops in Afghanistan as forces in Iraq are drawn down.

At a small ceremony at the Kabul headquarters of ISAF, the former commander of special operations forces in Iraq and Afghanistan said the struggle ahead would be hard.

He emphasised the importance of protecting Afghan civilians on whose support and trust the mission depended.

"If we gain that trust, we cannot lose. If we lose that trust, we cannot win," he told soldiers and civilians at the event.

"The Afghan people are in the centre of our mission. In reality they are our mission. We must protect them from violence whatever its nature," he said.