The NATO forces commander in Afghanistan said the momentum built up by the Taliban has been reversed in the south of the country and Kabul, the capital.

General David Petraeus said that it was important to destroy the safe havens of the Taliban.

He added that he would give President Obama his professional advice on the wisdom of giving over control to the Afghan forces next July.

It is the president's choice to accept or reject that advice, he added.

The man who made remarkable change in Iraq seems confident that he can have a repeat victory, of sorts, in Afghanistan.

He made it clear, for one, the he felt that he did not have Washington breathing down his neck.

If he were thinking that the President's dedline of next August to start and American withdrawal was too risky, he said he would tell him so.

One would think he would be concerned about his job security after seeing the end of General McChrystal.

"When you go into a job like this, you always think it's your last job," he replied.

He said that he did not disagree that the Americans had taken their eyes off the ball in Afghanistan by invading Iraq.

He also said that he told Defense Secretary at the time, Donald Rumsfeld, that the war there could stretch out a long time.

He said that it did not receive a standing ovation.

Gen. Petraeus is adding a new bit of confidence to the NATO campaign and is doing what he did in Iraq, talking up the chances of success while keeping expectations realistic.

He does expect more casualties as NATO moves on Taliban strongholds.

He got noticeably emotional when talking about the deaths of men under his command.

He said that he “absolutely” cares about casualties.