After Marja, 'Kandahar will be next,' Mullen says: "The nation's top military officer today said the focus of American troops and their allies in southern Afghanistan would shift to Kandahar following an ongoing offensive in the former Taliban stronghold of Marja.
The comment by Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, marks the first time the senior-most military leader confirmed what many believed would be the next phase in a series of operations that have been characterized thus far as an early test of the new U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.
'I think General McChrystal's been pretty clear that the focus will turn to Kandahar,' he told reporters at the Naval Air Station North Island here, referring to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. Mullen added: 'His main effort is really in the south, and Kandahar will be next.'"
