US to replace top commander in Afghanistan: Official

Defence Secretary Robert Gates has decided to replace the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, a Pentagon official said on Monday.

Gates plans to name General Stanley McChrystal, a former commander of special operations who now serves as director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as the new commander, the official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

The move, to be announced later at a news conference at the Pentagon, suggested a lack of confidence in McKiernan, who has been on the job less than a year having taken over command
in June 2008.