Petraeus Arrives in Kabul to Lead NATO Forces
NATO says Gen. David Petraeus has landed in the Afghan capital to take command of U.S. and international forces fighting the nearly 9-year-old war.
NATO spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks says Petraeus arrived Friday from Brussels where he sought to reassure allies that the war against the Taliban was on track despite rising casualties and problems regaining control over key parts of the country.
Petraeus is scheduled to appear with U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry on Saturday at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, and a formal change-of-command ceremony will be held in the next few days.
Petraeus succeeds Gen. Stanley McChyrstal, who resigned after making disparaging remarks about Obama administration officials in Rolling Stone magazine.
Mr. Obama has said troops will begin to leave in July 2011, but that the pace and size of the withdrawal will depend upon conditions.
As CBS News National Security correspondent David Martin reports, Petraeus pointed out that the July 2011 date was set last Fall in the president's speech at West Point -- based on projections at the time. Since then, the war has gone slower and harder than expected
Bloody June In Afghanistan for NATO Troops
Petraeus did not rule out a significant exodus then, as Vice President Joe Biden favors, but he would not promise one either. Petraeus has previously said that he would recommend putting off any large-scale withdrawal if security conditions in Afghanistan can't sustain it.
Petraeus also senators that he may change the war's battlefield rules, designed to limit civilian casualties and improve support for the foreign forces fighting the Taliban-led insurgency. Some troops and congressional Republicans complain they handicap U.S. forces.
"My sense is that the tough fighting will continue; indeed, it may get more intense in the next few months," Petraeus told the Senate panel. "As we take away the enemy's safe havens and reduce the enemy's freedom of action, the insurgents will fight back."