Dan Kelly McNeill (born July 23, 1946) is a retired four-star
general
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
. He served as Commander,
Coalition Forces, Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003 and as Commanding General,
U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) from 2004 to 2007. He then served as Commander,
International Security Assistance Force
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, command ...
(ISAF) in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
from February 1, 2007 to June 3, 2008.
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According to ''
Eurasianet
Eurasianet is a news organisation based at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute, the United States, that provides news, information and analysis on countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus region, Russia and Southwest Asia. Launched in 200 ...
'', McNeill opposed the local ceasefires and economic development programs that had been favored by the outgoing NATO commander,
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
General
David Richards.
[ The attempted targeting of ]Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
commander Abdul Ghafour, through aerial bombardment, on February 4, 2007, was seen as a sign of the policy changes McNeill wanted to introduce.
Officials in several European countries have quietly expressed concern about placing an American general in charge of the NATO force. Richards tried to create a less harsh, more economic-development-oriented identity for NATO in Afghanistan, as compared to the "kicking-down-doors" image that US forces have. Many local analysts expect NATO forces to embrace a more aggressive stance under McNeill, who is believed to oppose the type of local peace arrangements that Richards promoted. The danger at this point is that an overly aggressive NATO force in Afghanistan could alienate Afghans, and thus cause the Taliban’s support base to grow.
McNeill was featured in the Academy award-winning documentary ''Taxi to the Dark Side
''Taxi to the Dark Side'' is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney, and produced by Gibney, Eva Orner, and Susannah Shipman. It won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It focuses on the December 2002 killing of ...
'' (2007).[https://us.imdb.com/title/tt0854678/ ] The film captured McNeil refusing to admit 'any blunt force trauma' that caused Dilawar's death, despite the fact that the certificate of death had already stated 'Homicide'.
Awards and decorations
His awards and decorations included theOfficial Army Biography
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See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeill, Dan K.
1946 births
Living people
People from Warsaw, North Carolina
United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
United States Army generals
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
North Carolina State University alumni
Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal
Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal