【英语国际】驻阿富汗美军司令换帅

President Barack Obama accepted the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander and strategist of the Afghan war, following comments by the general and his aides disparaging the president and other senior officials.

Mr. Obama nominated Gen. David Petraeus, the head of the military's Central Command and the architect of the surge of forces into Iraq in 2007, to take over as the commanding general in Afghanistan.

The nomination of Gen. Petraeus, who still requires Senate confirmation, sends a signal that the president stands behind the counterinsurgency tactics pushed hard by Gen. McChrystal and championed by Gen. Petraeus.

Mr. Obama said his acceptance of Gen. McChrystal's resignation didn't reflect a disagreement about strategy or any sense of personal insult. 'We are in full agreement about our strategy,' he said Wednesday, expressing 'great admiration' for the general.

'But war is bigger than any one man,' Mr. Obama said. 'As difficult as it is to lose Gen. McChrystal, I believe it is the right decision for our national security.'

He said the change was necessary to maintain a 'unity of effort' in Afghanistan. 'I welcome debate among my team, but I won't tolerate division.'

The switch comes at a crucial time in the war, as thousands of troops are pouring into Afghanistan ahead of a planned operation in Kandahar that is seen as central to the campaign. The balance of surge forces are to arrive by August.

Some of his strongest advocates failed to jump to his defense after copies of the profile in Rolling Stone, titled 'The Runaway General,' circulated ahead of its publication Friday.

The article portrays Gen. McChrystal and his staff as rogues with little regard for the Washington chain of command, including Mr. Obama. Gen. McChrystal is quoted belittling Vice President Joseph Biden and other members of the administration, including Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the top U.S. civilian on Afghan policy.

Gen. McChrystal's remarks about senior officials exposed what has been an open secret in Washington and Kabul for months: The fissures that emerged during the Obama administration's three-month review of war strategy last year remain, and many of the personalities involved have strained relations that have festered for months.

The comments' impact has been magnified by a series of public setbacks for the war effort that has produced a widely held perception in Washington that the war isn't going well: continuing violence in Marjah; the firing by Afghan President Hamid Karzai of two highly regarded Afghan security officials; and a delay in operations in Kandahar.

Mr. Obama made clear that Gen. McChrystal's resignation didn't signal a change in strategy. 'This is a change in personnel but it is not a change in policy,' he said. Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the Rose Garden, he asked the Senate to confirm Gen. Petraeus 'as swiftly as possible.'

Afghan officials said before the announcement that firing Gen. McChrystal would disrupt progress in the war and could jeopardize pivotal operations in the south.

美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)接受了驻阿富汗美军司令斯坦利•麦克里斯特尔(Stanley McChrystal)将军的辞呈。此前麦克里斯特尔及数名助手曾发表过藐视总统和其他高层官员的言论。

奥巴马任命美军中央司令部司令戴维•彼得雷乌斯(David Petraeus)将军接替驻阿美军司令一职。彼得雷乌斯曾策划2007年向伊拉克增兵行动。

Reuters麦克里斯特尔将军周三早间抵达白宫与总统奥巴马进行了简短的会面彼得雷乌斯的任命仍需要获得参议院的批准。他的任命表明奥巴马支持麦克里斯特尔极力推进的、彼得雷乌斯拥护的镇压叛乱的战术。

奥巴马说，他接受麦克里斯特尔的辞呈并不意味着战略上存在分歧或自己有任何受辱的感觉。他周三说，我们在战略上完全一致，并对麦克里斯特尔表达了极大的赞赏。

奥巴马说，不过战争面前个人事小。失去麦克里斯特尔令人遗憾，不过我认为这对于美国国家安全来说是一个正确的决定。

他说，撤换驻阿美军司令对保持在阿富汗问题上的“团结一致”是必要的。他说，我欢迎安全团队进行辩论，但不容许有任何分裂。

撤换驻阿美军司令正值阿富汗战事关键时期──在坎大哈(Kandahar)的预定行动前，数千人的部队正涌入阿富汗；这次行动被视为对战事至关重要。剩余的增兵将于8月份抵达。

《滚石》(Rolling Stone)杂志上一篇题为《失控的将军》(The Runaway General)的文章复印件在周五出版前传开来之后，麦克里斯特尔的一些最坚决的支持者没能为他辩护。

这篇文章将麦克里斯特尔和他的幕僚描画成不尊重包括奥巴马在内的华盛顿指挥层的流氓。文章引述了麦克里斯特尔藐视副总统拜登(Joseph Biden)和其他政府官员的话，包括美国驻外大使、美国在阿富汗政策上的最高非军事官员郝尔布鲁克(Richard Holbrooke)。

麦克里斯特尔有关高层官员的言论暴露出了数月来已经是华盛顿和喀布尔公开的秘密：去年奥巴马政府为期三个月的战争战略评估期间出现的裂痕依然存在，数月来，很多相关人员关系出现问题，现在更是紧张起来。

麦克里斯特尔言论的影响被有关战争行动的一系列公开挫折放大了，华盛顿因此产生的普遍看法是战事进展不顺利：马尔贾(Marjah)持续不断的暴力冲突，两名德高望重的阿富汗安全官员被阿富汗总统卡尔扎伊(Hamid Karzai)解职，坎大哈行动的推迟。

奥巴马明确表示，麦克里斯特尔的辞职并不意味着战略会发生改变。他说，撤换驻阿美军司令只是人事上的变动，而非对阿政策上的改变。在副总统拜登、国防部长盖茨(Robert Gates)和参谋长联席会议(Joint Chiefs of Staff)主席穆林(Mike Mullen)将军的陪同下，奥巴马在玫瑰园请参议院尽快批准彼得雷乌斯的任命。

在解职声明公布前，阿富汗官员曾说，解除麦克里斯特尔的职务将扰乱战争的进程，可能会威胁到南部地区的关键行动。