New NATO commander in Afghanistan vows to win war on terror
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U.S. General David Petraeus, new military commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, speaks during a change of commander ceremony in Kabul July 4, 2010. [Xinhua] |
![U.S. General David Petraeus, new military commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, speaks during a change of commander ceremony in Kabul July 4, 2010. [Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20100705/0011111fa1560d9b64a507.jpg "U.S. General David Petraeus, new military commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, speaks during a change of commander ceremony in Kabul July 4, 2010. [Xinhua]")
The new commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, U.S. General David H. Petraeus, vowed on Sunday to win the war against Taliban militants and associated al-Qaida insurgents.
"We are here to win, that is our clear objective," the four- star U.S. General told an audience of several hundred guests attending the change of command ceremony in the ISAF compound here.
The newly appointed commander of some 130,000 strong-NATO-led forces also said, "We must demonstrate to the Afghan people, and to the world, that al-Qaida and its network of extremist allies will not be allowed to once again establish sanctuaries in Afghanistan from where they can launch attacks on the Afghan people and on freedom-loving nations around the world.
"To the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and civilians of ISAF and U.S. forces, I pledge to do all that I can to provide the best leadership, direction, and example that I can muster," General Petraeus said.
Petraeus took the command amid increasing Taliban-linked insurgency as over 320 NATO-led soldiers, with a majority of them Americans, have been killed since the beginning of this year in Afghanistan.
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