Petraeus To Head NATO?
The US Department of Defense is considering moving the main architect of a troop “surge” strategy, General David Petraeus, out of Iraq and giving him a top NATO command job, The New York Times reported on its website late Sunday.
Citing an unnamed senior Pentagon official, the newspaper said the department was weighing “a next assignment for Petraeus,” now the top US military commander in Iraq, and that the job of NATO supreme commander was a possibility.
“He deserves one and that has also always been a highly prestigious position,” the report quotes the official as saying. “So he is a candidate for that job, but there have been no final decisions and nothing on the timing.”
One of the proposed scenarios calls for nominating Petraeus for the NATO post before the end of September, when Congress goes into recess for elections, the paper said.
If everything goes as planned, Petraeus might stay in Iraq for some time after that before moving to the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, The Times said.
The leading candidates to replace him are Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal, head of special operations in Iraq, and Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, a senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, according to the report.
Under the “surge” strategy advocated by Petraeus and fully espoused by President George W. Bush, about 30,000 extra troops were sent to Iraq early last year in a bid to quell violence.
According to a Pentagon report released last month, the surge has been working, with US forces achieving “significant security progress” in Iraq over the past three months with the number of attacks down 62 percent.
Petraeus has been repeatedly praised by leading Republicans as the man who can get the job done in Iraq.
(AFP)
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Anyone else see this as the Democrats fix for Iraq?
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 amIF ITS NOT BROKEN DON’T ATTEMPT TO FIX IT!
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:43 amLftBhndAgn, you beat me to it.
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:48 amLftBhndAgn
DITTO:
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:26 amI am sorry, but I don’t think not even General Petraeus can fix a broken force like NATO. Europe is very pussified and will never commit enough forces to go into areas of operation with intense combat. Just ask Spain and Italy to name a few.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:28 pmBrilliant idea…He should have someone ready to relieve him in Iraq (his protege) before he departs of course. I’m sure he would love the challenge as well as he could bring alot more influence to the Afghans arena of counter-insurgency.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:53 pm