McChrystal: Violence "Worse" Than Expected

Asked if things are better or worse than he expected since his arrival a few months ago, the general replies, "They're probably a little worse. I think that in some areas that the breadth of the violence, the geographic spread of violence, is a little more than I would have gathered."

The increased violence has resulted in 265 civilians killed in U.S. or coalition action in the past 12 months the general says, a situation that must stop if victory is to be attained.

"This civilian casualty issue is much more important than I even realized. It is literally how we lose the war, or in many ways how we win it," McChrystal explained.

The general has halted many operations aimed too close to civilians, even if the target area was the source of enemy fire. He believes it's more important to protect civilians than kill Taliban or Qaeda fighters, because not having the support of the Afghan people is a risk he cannot afford.

"If people view us as occupiers and the enemy, we can't be successful and our casualties will go up dramatically," he tells Martin.

Relying on overwhelming U.S. firepower is not the way to proceed in Afghanistan says McChrystal.

"You know, the favorite saying…'To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.' We can't walk with only a hammer in our hands," says McChrystal.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s interview with CBS News National Security correspondent David Martin will be broadcast Sunday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. ET. From this portion of the interview, it appears that the Obama administration may have put a very wise man in charge of the operation in Afghanistan. Considering that the Russians couldn't defeat the Afghan people in a decade with over 100,000 heavily armed troops, it stands to reason that the 60,000 strong international force currently there won't be able to do the job without the support of the Afghan people. Compounding the issue is the underlying complications in the region with the apparently corrupt "democratic" Karzai government and the obviously corrupt but "enemy of my enemy is my friend" leadership of Pakistan. We may never leave the area.

Excerpt from cbsnews.com. Read full article here