BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:
And about the new man in charge,
General David Petraeus
, like the man he replaces, has four stars. He's 57 years old. He's been running
US Central Command
after leading the
101st Airborne
into
Iraq
. He was commander there for at least a year. He's a graduate of
West Point
,
Princeton PhD
.
Prostate cancer
survivor. He married the daughter of his
West Point
superintendent. Father of two, including a newly commissioned Army officer. We've had several opportunities to see the general's hands-on style up close in
Iraq
. What does he now mean to the
war effort
in
Afghanistan
? Let's look at that question
from two fronts:
Jim Miklaszewski
on post at the
Pentagon
and our chief foreign correspondent
Richard Engel
in
Afghanistan
for us tonight.
Jim
, starting with you, we've already heard the
Republicans
on the
Hill
praising this. That's the political side. He's probably the most celebrated active duty officer. He's been called a celebrity general. How about the military?
JIM MIKLASZEWSKI reporting:
Well, you know, the military is very high on
David Petraeus
, and there should be no slowdown or hitch in the
Afghanistan
strategy. And, in fact, even before this
McChrystal
flap,
White House
and
Pentagon
officials were going in -- growing increasingly concerned that as the war in
Afghanistan
bogged down,
America
's patience, both on
Capitol Hill
and out there in the public, was growing increasingly thin, and that the US strategy was
running out of time
. They're hoping that by enacting this stunning change in leadership, by putting somebody like
General Petraeus
in charge, the one who engineered that successful surge operation in
Iraq
, that it could buy them some badly needed
time. Brian:
And
Richard Engel
, to you in
Kabul
. This had been called the one name the president could have reached into the bag and grabbed to save this crisis and stop it. What about -- on behalf of the 90,000 American families with a loved one over there -- what about the effect on the
war effort
?
WILLIAMS:
The effect on the troops immediately probably won't change very much. If anything, this could boost the soldiers' morale. There is a sense that he's a -- someone who has success. Soldiers like success.
General Petraeus
is a famous character, and soldiers here will be pleased that the
White House
is sending their best man for the job. This is a very risky decision for
General Petraeus
, however. What he had in
Iraq
is not the same situation he faces here. There -- the two wars are not comparable at all. So just because he was able to do it in
Iraq
doesn't mean he'll able to do it here. He's putting his reputation on the line.
RICHARD ENGEL reporting:
Richard Engel
in
Afghanistan
.
Jim Miklaszewski
at the
Pentagon
, part of our team covering this lead story tonight. Gentlemen, thanks.
WILLIAMS:
“ ”