Afstan: US deputy commander Lt.-Gen. Rodriguez now has ISAF hat too

Conclusion of a June 3 post:

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To improve the complicated command structure in Afghanistan, McChrystal said, he would seek NATO approval to put his deputy, Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, in charge of military operations in the five military regions of Afghanistan, allowing McChrystal to focus on higher-level strategy [emphasis added]... Well, well, well. This is from a post May 16:

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Somehow I don't think NATO members received much, if any, consultation on the nomination of their new ISAF commander. Indeed, from May 13:

Weekly press briefing
by NATO Spokesperson James Appathurai
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On Afghanistan, there has been… sorry, let me just make one more point on this. Lt-Gen. Rodriguez, as I mentioned, has been nominated as Deputy Commander for US Forces in Afghanistan with the COMISAF being double-hatted also is commander of US Forces Afghanistan [more here and here]. This is a three-star position. It is, as you know, in line with the increase in the number of US Forces. Gen. Rodriguez will wear a US hat; he will not be part of a NATO command structure [emphasis added]. The ISAF and OEF missions remain separate. The ISAF mandate stays as it is. The command structure does not change, just to be clear from that announcement...

Looks like there's going be a bit of an about-face. But something approaching real unity of (effectively American) command--except for ISAF's still reporting to NATO HQ and US Forces-Afghanistan to CENTCOM. More on Lt.-Gen Rodriguez (who recently served in Afstan) here and here. And PBS audio on unity of command here, with Canadian Col. Ian Hope, commander of our first battle group at Kandahar in 2006; Col. Hope has written on the issue.

Some two months later the Obama administration's unilateral approach (strangely overlooked in the media) gets results:

NATO OKs new operational command for Afghanistan

NATO's governing body approved a plan on Tuesday to reorganize the alliance's command structure in Afghanistan by setting up a new headquarters to handle the day-to-day running of the war.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the new Intermediate Joint Headquarters [emphasis added] in Kabul will be commanded by U.S. Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez. Rodriguez participated in Tuesday's deliberations of the North Atlantic Council governing body by videoconference along with his boss, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

The decision is part of a reorganization of the U.S. and NATO command structure aimed at easing the pressure on McChrystal by removing his burden of the day-to-day operation of the war. It is similar to the model used in Iraq, where overall command of the multinational forces was under a four-star American general, while a three-star general ran daily operations.

NATO has about 64,000 troops - half of them Americans - in Afghanistan.

The new headquarters will control only the NATO-led International Stabilization Force, known as ISAF, Appathurai said. It will not be in charge of a separate U.S. contingent of about 10,000 soldiers also serving in Afghanistan...

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, talked over the weekend at a NATO air base in Belgium with [CENTCOM commander] Gen. David Petraeus, who has overall responsibility for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq [but in Afstan officially only for those US forces not under ISAF; hence full unity of command is still lacking].

Gates and Mullen were given an interim report on security in Afghanistan.

McChrystal is putting together an assessment of the war that may include a request for additional U.S. forces and resources.