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.

It was unclear why Neumann was leaving the post he has held since July 2005.

The White House had previously announced that Bush would nominate 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, has been picked to replace Khalilzad in Iraq. All the positions must be confirmed by the Senate.

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