US top commander in Afghanistan promotes new strategy

President Barack Obama's decision on a troop surge is clearly good news to the US top commander in Afghanistan.

General Stanley McChrystal called Obama's pledge of reinforcements "the end of the beginning" of the eight-year-old war.

Shortly after Obama's Tuesday speech, McChrystal visited the regional commander in the southern province of Kandahar. He told his officers that by next summer, all parties involved in Afghanistan will have confidence in the war.

He said the current priority is to prevent the insurgency from threatening the Afghan government and to prevent Al Qaeda or other terrorists from using Afghanistan as a safe haven.

McChrystal also endorsed Obama's timeline to begin withdrawing the extra troops in mid-2011.