Handover: General David Petraeus receives the Nato during a ceremony attended by several hundred Nato and Afghan officials in Kabul today
U.S. General David Petraeus today formally assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in Afghanistan at a time of rising casualties and growing scepticism about the direction of the nearly nine-year-old war.
General Petraeus received two flags - one for the U.S. and the other for Nato - during a ceremony attended by several hundred Nato and Afghan officials on a grassy area just outside coalition headquarters in Kabul.
Predecessor: General Petraeus replaces General Stanley McChrystal (pictured), who was fired for making critical remarks about the Obama administration
He succeeds General Stanley McChrystal, who was fired last month for intemperate remarks he and his aides made to Rolling Stone magazine about Obama administration officials.
Speaking at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul yesterday, General Petraeus said that cooperation between civilian and military efforts in Afghanistan 'is not optional'.
During today's ceremony, he told the crowd: 'We are in this to win.'
'We are engaged in a contests of wills. We have arrived at a critical moment.
'Upfront I also want to recognise the enormous contributions of my predecessor, General Stanley McChrystal.'He said progress made reflects General McChrystal's 'vision, energy and leadership'.
Speaking before General Petraeus, General Egon Ramms, German army commander for the Allied Joint Force Command, also praised the work of General McChrystal, saying he took the coalition 'forward at a very difficult time'.
General Ramms lamented the deaths of civilians due to military operations by coalition forces, but said people should not forget the Afghan citizens who died at the hands of insurgents whose actions are 'unlawful'.
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