Petraeus stresses cooperation in Afghan war

Petraeus called for troops and civilian staff employees to work together, saying: “In this important endeavor, cooperation is not optional.’’

His predecessor, General Stanley McChrystal, was fired last month for intemperate remarks that he and his aides made to Rolling Stone magazine about Obama administration officials, mostly on the civilian side.

“Civilian and military, Afghanistan and international, we are part of one team with one mission,’’ Petraeus told about 1,700 invited guests, including Afghan government and military and police officials gathered at the US Embassy for a pre-Fourth of July celebration marking American independence.

They were Petraeus’s first public comments since he arrived Friday night to take command of the international force. He said he would work to improve coordination between troops on the battlefield and civilians trying to bolster the Afghan government and improve the lives of the people.

His message to the Afghans in the audience: “Your success is our success.’’

Petraeus, widely credited with turning around the US war effort in Iraq, faces rising violence and growing doubts in Washington and other allied capitals about the effectiveness of the counterinsurgency strategy, which the general himself pioneered.

June was the deadliest month for the allied force since the war began in October 2001, with 102 deaths, more than half of them Americans. Britain’s Ministry of Defense reported that a Royal Marine was killed Thursday in southern Afghanistan — the fifth international service member killed this month.

Later, Petraeus met with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. Corruption was one of the issues the two discussed, according to a statement issued by the presidential palace. Karzai used the meeting to complain about what he said were baseless allegations made by US Representative Nita Lowey, a Democrat from New York, who suggested that Afghan government officials had misused or pocketed donor funds, Karzai’s office said.