KABUL (AFP) – U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, tasked with carrying out the new U.S. strategy in the war against the Taliban, has formally assumed command of international troops in Afghanistan.

McChrystal, a former commander of special operations forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, was nominated in May after the United States sacked his predecessor and called for “new thinking” in the fight against the extremists.
The Taliban-led insurgency is now at its bloodiest level since 2001, when the hardliners were ousted in a U.S.-led invasion, and troops face the urgent task of reining in the violence before presidential elections on August 20.
“The Afghan people are in the center of our mission. In reality they are the mission. We must protect them from violence whatever its nature,” McChrystal said at the headquarters of NATO's International Security Assistance Force.
“2009 will be a critical year for Afghanistan and a critical year for our coalition, but while operating with care, we will not be timid,” he said at the assumption of command ceremony attended by Afghan and Western officials.
McChrystal, who arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday, is expected to conduct a review of military strategy and make recommendations on any changes within two months of his arrival in Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon.
In talks on Sunday, President Hamid Karzai reminded McChrystal of the military's obligation to protect civilians -- a reference to the heavy civilian casualties suffered in the battle against the insurgents, Karzai's office said.
“The most important element of the mission of the new NATO/coalition forces commander in Afghanistan is to protect the civilian population during the anti-terrorism military operations,” Karzai was quoted as telling the general.
ISAF said the general had commented that “intelligence-driven precision operations, subordinate to efforts protecting development projects and Afghanistan's population, will win the support of the Afghan people.”
“The measure of effectiveness will not be (the number of) enemy killed, it will be the number of Afghans shielded from violence,” Karzai was quoted as telling the general in a ISAF statement.
The removal of McChrystal's predecessor, General David McKiernan, was announced as the U.S. military was accused of one of its deadliest incidents involving civilians since the 2001 invasion to remove the Taliban.
U.S. warplanes targeting Taliban positions in the southwestern province of Farah on May 4 struck compounds where locals said villagers had taken shelter from heavy fighting between insurgents and the security forces.
An Afghan government probe said 140 civilians, most of them women and children, were killed. The U.S. military admitted to some mistakes but issued a far lower death toll -- 20-30 civilians killed as well as around 60 militants.
Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Anif Atmar said Sunday that Taliban rebels would try to turn this summer into the “bloodiest” yet to show their strength in the face of US troop reinforcements.
“They have political motives for this ... they want to send a message to the international community that 'even if you send more troops we can continue our terrorist attacks',” he said.
Thousands of mostly U.S. troops are moving in to ensure the August polls go ahead smoothly and to reinforce the turbulent south of the country, a Taliban stronghold.
Atmar said the number of militant attacks had increased about 40 percent in the past week compared to the week before, leaving 48 civilians, 30 policemen and 176 rebels dead.
Regional U.S. commander General David Petraeus had said Thursday that the past week had seen the highest level of security incidents since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban and he warned of “tough months ahead.”
There are around 56,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, making up the bulk of the nearly 90,000 international forces assisting in the battle against extremist insurgents.