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U.S. general top leader in Afghanistan
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published February 5, 2007
KABUL, Afghanistan - Gen. Dan McNeill, the highest-ranking U.S. general to lead troops in Afghanistan, took command of 35,500 NATO-led soldiers on Sunday, putting an American face on the international mission after nine months of British command. The transition comes after a year of sharply increased violence following the alliance's push into the Taliban's southern heartland, and military officials said privately they expect McNeill to take a harder line with militants than his predecessor, Gen. David Richards. Richards backed a peace deal in the southern town of Musa Qala that crumbled in his last days in command when about 200 Taliban fighters overran the town Thursday. NATO said an airstrike Sunday killed a key Taliban leader causing the upheaval. The appointment of McNeill, one of only 11 four-star generals in the Army, raises the profile of the American mission here two weeks after the Defense Department extended the tour of 3,200 10th Mountain Division soldiers. There are 26,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the highest number ever. By comparison, there were about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan in 2002, the year after the Taliban's ouster.
[Last modified February 5, 2007, 02:10:35]
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