America's top military commander in Afghanistan sacked: ops out of control; can the Afghanistan war be won?; foreign firms to list on Chinese sharemarket; Israel calls for peace but not two states; and more

Top of the Agenda: Pentagon Afghan Command Change

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced yesterday that he has requested the resignation (WashPost) of the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, and recommended that the Obama administration replace McKiernan with a special operations commander, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Gates said the Pentagon needs "fresh thinking" and "fresh eyes" on the Afghanistan war at a time when many analysts say operations there are spiraling out of U.S. control.

The New York Times reports McKiernan's ouster is intended to bring a more "aggressive and innovative" approach to the Afghan war effort. But the Times says McChrystal will be faced with stark questions about the use of U.S. special operations forces in Afghanistan, given that the aggressive tactics used by these forces have in the past led to civilian casualties, which in turn have undermined goodwill for U.S. troops among the Afghan public.

Gates's announcement coincided with fresh violence in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters raided Afghan state offices in Khost province today, and al-Jazeera reports battles on streets leading in and out of the city of Khost, within the province, are ongoing.

Related:

- A new Backgrounder looks at the challenges of winning the information war in Afghanistan and outlines U.S. strategic communications strategy.

- In an interview, the director of communications for the U.S. Central Command discusses strategies for countering the Taliban's message.

PACIFIC RIM: Chinese Exchanges

Beijing announced yesterday that it would move to allow foreign firms to list shares (China Daily) on Chinese exchanges, though it did not reveal a timetable.

S.KOREA: Seoul's central banker said South Korea's recession would like be "deep" and "long" (Korea Times) and that market watchers should not be overly optimistic about quick recovery.

ELSEWHERE:

Netanyahu calls for peace talks but not two-state solution.
Islamic hardliners make gains in four days of fighting in Somalia.

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.