WASHINGTON - The commander chosen by US President Barack Obama to lead US and NATO troops in Afghanistan was confirmed by the Senate, with military officials predicting that newly arrived troops will target militants crossing into the countrys southern part from Pakistan and be a game changer in a region long dominated by the Taliban, The voice vote Wednesday evening for Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal took place after Senator Harry Reid, leader of the majority Democrats in the chamber, appealed for a quick confirmation so McChrystal could take up his new command as the Obama administration seeks to turn around the conflict in Afghanistan, which has been plagued by rising Taliban and al-Qaeda militancy. The vote took place after Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, telephoned Reid to urge a speedy decision on McChrystal, who was to leave Washington for Afghanistan Wednesday night. The Democrats had feared the Republicans would hold up the vote. The Obama administration selected McChrystal a month ago, dismissing General David McKiernan, as it sought to bring a fresh approach to the conflict in Afghanistan. McKiernan was replaced after a year on the job, during which the situation in Afghanistan and the fight with the Taliban and al-Qaeda deteriorated. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said a new commander in Afghanistan was needed under the revised strategy enacted by Obama that includes putting more soldiers and resources into the conflict. McChrystal is a former commander of special operations and is credited with leading a successful counterinsurgency programme in Iraq. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, McChrystal said he would see the military operations in Afghanistan as a success when al-Qaeda is eliminated in Afghanistan as well as neighbouring Pakistan. Victory could not be measured by the number of dead militants but by the number of civilians protected from violence, he said. The Afghan government has criticized the United States and NATO for civilian casualties caused by their operations. McChrystal said he would protect civilians by reviewing deployment guidelines, limiting airstrikes and deploying strengthened small fighting units on the ground. If defeating an insurgent formation produces popular resentment, the victory is hollow and unsustainable, he said. Meanwhile, Col. George Amland, a military commander, spoke to journalists at Camp Leatherneck, a rapidly expanding base now home to around 7,000 US Marines preparing to push deeper into Helmand province, an insurgent stronghold and a haven for violent criminals controlling a massive opium-poppy industry. Some 3,000 Marines are already deployed elsewhere in the province. President Obama has ordered 21,000 troops to Afghanistan this summer to beat back the Taliban eight years after the US-led invasion and create the conditions needed for the Afghan government to extend its influence and allow foreign forces to return home. Amland, the deputy commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan, said in the future the Marines and NATO forces would address those traffic lines between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Britain has several thousand troops in Helmand that have proved unable to stop the insurgency, and critics have predicted Obamas troop surge may be too small and too late to defeat the Taliban. Amland disputed that prediction, saying the troop deployment was an appreciable investment that would provide a base for the Afghan government and security forces to build on. It is a very big game changer to have this many Marines in an area this size, said Amland. The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 because the countrys extremist Taliban leaders were sheltering Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, the terrorist group behind the September 11 attacks. The forces quickly defeated the Taliban, pushing the militants out of Kabul and their southern base in Kandahar. But a guerrilla war, which turned dangerously violent in 2006, has bedevilled the international coalition and Afghan government. Amland said the Helmand insurgency was in many cases intertwined with the criminals who control the opium and heroin industry there and that officers were trying to work out exactly who to target. I wish it were as simple as looking at alleged Taliban leaders, he said. We are going to have to assess what is really Taliban influence and what is a spin-off of the narco-industry and how these forces interact. The US surge will bring American troop levels from about 55,000 to more than 68,000 by the end of 2009 - about half of the nearly 140,000 US troops currently in Iraq. The buildup has led to comparisons with Iraq, where an influx of troops in 2007 is credited with helping to reduce violence. But unlike Iraq, where the US plans to phase out its role by 2012, the military envisions a long-term presence in Afghanistan.