New U.S. Commander Breaks Silence

Combat was simpler the way Gen. Stanley McChrystal learned it as a Green Beret--find the enemy and take them out. But in his first interview since being named top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, McChrystal says that the war there will require troops to "convince people, not kill them" in order to turn things around. "Since 9/11, I have watched as America tried to first put out this fire with a hammer, and it doesn't work," McChrystal told The Wall Street Journal. "Decapitation strategies don't work." McChrystal said that he was hoping to pursue a "classic counterinsurgency campaign" similar to Iraq, a challenge he was concerned may be undermined by lack of troops. Obama has committed 68,000 troops to Afghanistan, an increase from his predecessor, versus 170,000 troops in Iraq during the surge.