...In this Jan. 20, 2010 file photo, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Commander of the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and Commander of UnitedStates Forces in Afghanistan talking with the President Obama. A source tells that President will name Ge
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...In this Jan. 20, 2010 file photo, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Commander of the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and Commander of UnitedStates Forces in Afghanistan talking with the President Obama. A source tells that President will name Ge
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publicly.
With the controversy have the effect of refueling debate over his Afghanistan policy, Obama took pains to emphasize that the strategy was not shifting with McChrystal's outster.
"This is a change in personnel but it is not a change in policy," he said.
Indeed, as Obama was speaking, McChrystal released a statement saying that he resigned out of "a desire to see the mission succeed."
"I strongly support the president's strategy in Afghanistan," McChrystal said.
With Washington abuzz, there had been a complete lockdown on information about the morning's developments until just before Obama spoke.
But by pairing the decision on McChrystal's departure with the name of his replacement, Obama is seeking to move on as quickly as possible from the firestorm.
Petraeus, who attended a formal Afghanistan war meeting at the White House Wednesday, has been overseeing the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq as head of U.S. Central Command.
Petraeus is the nation's best-known military man, having risen to prominence as the commander who turned around the Iraq war in 2007. The Afghanistan job is actually a step down from his current post.
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