(Updates with U.S. official comment) WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Thursday nominated William Wood to be ambassador to Afghanistan, the latest in a shuffle of top diplomats in a region the United States considers central to fighting terrorism. Wood, currently ambassador to Colombia, was chosen to replace Ronald Neumann in Afghanistan where U.S. forces are fighting the Taliban and hunting for al Qaeda leaders. Neumann was leaving the post he has held since July 2005 as part of the changes Bush is making in his foreign policy team heading into his last two years in office. "They just want to make sure they have got a team in place now that can go through the rest of the term and I don't think anyone would expect someone to serve four plus years in Afghanistan," said an U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Bush has picked Zalmay Khalilzad, currently U.S. ambassador to Iraq, to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to replace John Bolton, who stepped down after Democrats made clear they would block his renomination. Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, was chosen to replace Khalilzad in Iraq. All the positions must be confirmed by the Senate. (Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed)
