New York Times
Published: 04-23-08
WASHINGTON — Gen. David H. Petraeus who has commanded United States troops in Iraq for the past year will be nominated to head the United States Central Command which oversees military operations across a wide swath of the Middle East Africa and Asia Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced on Wednesday.
Mr. Gates said that he and President Bush and settled on the four-star general for the post because he is best suited to oversee American operations not just in Iraq but also in Afghanistan and other areas where the United States is engaged in “assymetric” warfare a euphemism for battling terrorists and non-uniformed combatants.
“I am absolutely convinced he is the best man for the job” Mr. Gates said.
General Petraeus issued a statement in Baghdad saying “I am honored to be nominated for this position” according to the Associated Press.
The necessary paperwork to make General Petraeus’s new assignment a reality will be speeded to the White House and from there to the Senate where the Secretary said he is confident of quick confirmation based on his recent conversations with leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Significantly Mr. Gates said “I do not anticipate General Petraeus leaving Iraq before late summer or early fall.” The time until the general’s departure will promote “a good handoff” the secretary said.
General Petraeus’s replacement as the top commander within Iraq will be his former deputy Lieut. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno of the Army Mr. Gates said.
General Odierno recently returned to the United States from a 15-month tour in Iraq and was in line to get a fourth star as Army vice chief of staff. He will get the fourth star but as the new commander in Baghdad. Mr. Gates said the general was the logical choice to succeed his old boss because he is familiar to the officers and rank-and-file in Iraq and not least to the Iraqis.
“In most parts of the world especially the Middle East personal relationships make a big difference” Mr. Gates said. He said Lieut. Gen. Peter Chiarelli will now be nominated for Army vice chief of staff instead of General Odierno.
The announcement that General Petraeus 55 will head the Central Command and Mr. Gates’s emphasis on operations in Afghanistan as well as Iraq reinforced the impression that Pentagon leaders expect the United States to have significant numbers of troops deployed in those two countries for some time to come.
It would not have been surprising if General Petraeus’s next assignment had turned out to be a military-diplomatic post in Europe or a similar slot. That he was tapped to run the Central Command instead indicated the importance the Pentagon places on the command and on America showing no sign of flagging in Iraq or Afghanistan
General Petraeus’s recent appearances on Capitol Hill where he seemed to win the respect of lawmakers even as some of them voiced frustration over the Bush administration’s policies also bolstered the impression that there will be no quick pullout from Iraq. The general said then that the situation in Iraq while improving was still “fragile” and he discouraged any suggestion of a rapid reduction in troop strength.
Asked whether the general’s selection to head the Central Command was a signal that the Pentagon would “stay the course” in Iraq a phrase that has often been turned against the administration by its critics Mr. Gates said that General Petraeus’s time as the top man in Iraq had been a good one and that “staying that course is not a bad idea.”
When he was asked whether General Petraeus’s promotion to the theater-wide post coupled with the selection of his former deputy General Odierno to lead forces in Iraq should be interpreted as a warning to Iran which has often been accused of meddling with the affairs of its neighbor Iraq Mr. Gates did not answer directly.
But he did not discourage the suggestion of a warning to Iran when he said “What Iranians are doing is killing American servicemen inside Iraq.”
The previous Central Command chief Adm. William J. Fallon was ushered into retirement in March after rankling the Bush administration with public comments that seemed to suggest an emphasis on diplomacy over confrontation in dealing with Iran.
Though the Central Command was created in 1983 to cover the “central” part of the globe between the European and Pacific Commands according its Web site its main headquarters is located not in its theater of operations but rather in Tampa Fla. at least in part because of the political sensitivity of basing it in the Mideast.
