Gates: No one but Petraeus could step in

Defense Secretary Robert Gates Thursday said President Obama's decision to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal with Gen. David Petraeus as the commander of U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan as the "best possible solution to an awful situation."

During a news conference Thursday afternoon, Gates said Petraeus, the former commander of forces in Iraq who now oversees both wars as head of U.S. Central Command, would not have a steep learning curve as the new commander in Afghanistan.

"My concern was that we not lose time and that we not lose focus during a transition period," Gates said. "And it was evident that there was only one general officer who was in a position to move in with hardly a missed beat."

The Senate Armed Services Committee announced plans to hold a confirmation hearing for Petraeus Tuesday to enable the Senate to vote on the nomination before the Fourth of July recess. The four-star Army officer enjoys strong bipartsian support on Capitol Hill and is expected to be confirmed easily.

Obama accepted McChrystal's resignation during a White House meeting Wednesday after the Army general and several aides made insulting and incendiary comments about the president, Vice President Biden and several members of the administration's national security team in a Rolling Stone magazine profile.

The president said the decision to relieve his handpicked war commander of his duties came with "considerable regret" but is the "right thing for our mission in Afghanistan, our military and our country."

Thursday, Gates said the idea of selecting Petraeus for the Afghanistan post was Obama's, and the decision is one he and Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen fully support.

Petraeus, who wrote the military's counterinsurgency manual, outlining a new approach to warfare, is "one of great battle captains in American military history," Gates said.

Both Gates and Mullen recommended McChrystal last year for the top military job in Afghanistan, but Gates said the general's "poor judgment" relating to comments in the article made it impossible for him to continue to serve in the post or as a member of the administration's national security team.

Mullen had worked closely with McChrystal and Thursday called him a friend. He said he was "nearly sick" when he first read the article, which he believed challenged the principle of civilian control of the military.

"We [military officers] are and must remain a neutral instrument of the state - accountable to and respectful of those leaders," Mullen said.