Gates: US Afghan mission unchanged by commander replacement

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday nobody should misinterpret the decision to replace the top commander in Afghanistan as a sign of any slackening in the US commitment to that mission.

"No one, be they adversaries or friends or especially our troops, should misinterpret these personnel changes as a slackening of this government's commitment to the mission in Afghanistan," Gates said one day after President Barack Obama fired the commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, and named Central Command chief David Petraeus to replace him. (Reuters)