A promotion for Gen. Petraeus
Big news on the war front this morning: Gen. Petraeus has been tapped as the next commander of U.S. Central Command.
Reuters: “U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday will recommend the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, to lead Central Command, the military command responsible for Middle East operations. Gates’ recommendation must go to President George W. Bush, who will then send the nomination to the U.S. Senate. Petraeus, who has overseen a war strategy widely credited with a dramatic reduction in violence in Iraq, will replace former Adm. William Fallon, who resigned after a reported break with Bush over Iran policy. Pentagon sources also said they expected Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, now No. 2 in Iraq, to replace Petraeus as top commander in that war. They said Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Gates’ military advisor, would likely become the No. 2 commander in Iraq.”
11:08 am. SecDef Robert Gates speaks: Anticipates that Gen. Petraeus will not leave until late summer, early fall. Expresses deep gratitude for sacrifice and service of all, singles out Odierno and his family (Odierno had just returned from theater and will now be headed back). Asks Congress to move quickly.
Gates: “I am absolutely confident that he is the best man for the job.”
Reporters asking about continuity of surge ops in Iraq. Allahpundit’s got background and links.
Question: Is there a shortage of talent when it comes to counterinsurgency?
Gates: “There is no question that there are a handful of generals, like a lot of our captains and enlisted soldiers, who have repeated tours in Iraq–partly for experience, they know Iraq…Adm. Fallon’s decision to step down was unexpected…”
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Congratulations to Gen. Petraeus for well deserved promotion!
Hurray! As I’ve said before, General Petraeus is intelligence and heart enveloped in a steel veneer. There is no better choice for this position.
Hands down a great commander and a man. Congrats to him if that’s the next step he wants to take!
a well deserved promotion. congrats to Gen. Petraeus.
Congrats General you whole heartedly deserve it, not only that you are defenitly the best choice.
WOOT! Couldn’t happen to a better man!
GOD Bless you sir.
This is a GREAT move but saw it coming for quite some time.
This is great news!
Best man for the job, by far. While I have no problems with the Navy, I felt Fallon’s promotion to CentCom was not well thought out. He really didn’t get the situation like Petraeus does.
On another note, I do question Gates’ judgement. As a military spouse, I really do not like him. When Gates basically said that the Air Force wasn’t doing enought to “support” the war, I was done with him.
I have many Air Force friends who say otherwise. Petraeus’ appointment will be something Gates got right for a change.
Inasmuch (the dreaded “inasmuch”) as the military has been maneuver focused for generations, it’s no surprise that counter insurgency is the ugly cousin of tactics.
Doesn’t help that we had difficulty coming to grips with insurgent warfare in Vietnam, either.
Still, no organization on earth is as adept at learning on the battlefield as the US Army. Witness the precipitous rise of combat power/ability shown by our WWII fathers.
I called it, BTW. I knew we were in Iraq too thin, but when the surge called for a re-orientation and only 30,000 more troops, I said, “never underestimate the combat power of US troops”. My training? The US Army Infantry Officer’s Advanced Course at Ft Benning.
Even a lowly captain can see clearly, if given the data. There are enough thinking men in the military, you can rest assured.
well deserved.
pink moonbats will have a conniption..
Great news…congratulations General, a well deserved honor and position to great man and soldier.
Damn’d if we as Americans aren’t lucky sometimes.
Congratulations General! You are the right man, with the right tactics, in the right time of our nations History. May he continue to see success for his spectacular anti-insurgency tactics! Salute!
The fact that Gates made a statement like that is outrageous. I am in the Air force and I have to be honest with you we have a good deal of airman running convoys in Iraq. We have fighter bases there and not to mention the airlift missions. I agree with the whole lowering the UAV piloting requirements a little but that is the extent. Sorry if I went a little off topic there.
Appropriate congratulations to the General for a job well done. We are all appreciative of his service that keeps us all safe.
This means Petraeus will have to launch a preemptive strike on Iranian nukes this fall. Also the Quds encampments across the Iraqi border.
A logical move for a man deserving of honor and respect. General Petraeus will continue to lead our Military men and women following the traditions handed down by centuries of Freedom seekers. God Bless America.
This is great news and it couldn’t happen to a finer fellow!
Gen. Petraeus recently pulled through for me. My boyfriend who was stationed in Iraq was desperately ill. He kept rapidly dropping weight and no one knew what to do so they kept him in Iraq. (Despite him getting down to 112 pounds! He’s 6′1″ !!!)
Out of desperation I contacted General Petraeus and was surprised that he not only responded rapidly, but did manage to get my boyfriend evacuated out of Iraq to a hospital in Germany where he is currently being treated.
I have the upmost respect for this General. I’m a nobody and he responded to my request and saved my boyfriend’s life. I am forever in his debt and I’m happy that he recieved a promotion.
It was well-deserved!!!
HOOAH!!
How much you wanna bet Sen Levin (Chair of Senate Armed Services Committee) will use his power and position to delay, block, hold up or basically screw with the nomination process.
Yeah, no it’s not Gates. It’s well known Fox Fallon’s position on Iran, and he was pushed out because of it.
With Petraeus now overseeing Middle East Operations, another puzzle piece in the attack on Iran has fallen into place. We will attack Iran before Bush is out of office - I’m just waiting to see what the catalyst is. Gary Hart has some revealing words about it here.
# 20
and you say that like it’s a bad thing …
“This means Petraeus will have to launch a preemptive strike on Iranian nukes this fall. Also the Quds encampments across the Iraqi border”
IF action is taken against iran, then yes we surely have the right man in the centcom seat to oversee it …
Yeah, it is a promotion, but there is more to it than that….
Looking for the recent article I read — maybe on StrategyPage — that discussed this possibility at length about a month or two ago. It seems that there is some politics involved in this promotion beyond the obvious (surprise, surprise…). This may not be opposed by the Dems…
The reasoning is that supposedly Petraeus has political ambitions for after his military career. The article implied that there were some whisperings about Petraeus being tapped for VP to McCain, which could all but lock up the Presidency for McCain.
Promoting Petraeus (or not opposing it) puts him in a bad position to accept the VP nomination. The thinking is that he would come across as a power-hungry military sellout if he bails from the CentCom post just after being promoted to it. This would tarnish his currently stellar reputation in the country.
Don’t know which way to view it. Yes, he is the man for the job at CentCom. On the other hand, I would LOVE to see him as a VP by McCain. That would drive the moonbats into absolute mind-numbing hysterics….
hm, i tend to prefer my generals being generals and my elected officials being elected officials — i think the founders knew what they were doing with the whole civilian control of the military thing …
hence, whether petreaus stayed @ MNF-Iraq or @ CENTCOM, he needs to stay in uniform for another few years.
/DAVID P 2016!
Now the question is: will Harry Reid gladly vote to promote General Petraeus in hopes he will fade into the background, or will he hold a grudge against him for making his “the surge has failed” statement look foolish?
The moonbats yes, the Democrats, no. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hillary taps him first (and yes, Hillary will be the nominee). Hillary’s positioning herself as more hawkish then McCain with quotes like:
Reported here
I like how she uses the words ‘able to’, meaning that there just has to be a reason, and we start the strikes.
The fact is that if your vote is based on presumptive war with Iran, and a sustained effort in Iraq, you’ll have a win-win situation in November!
2016? Not that patient here….
Petraeus/Jindal 2012 !!
well, i’d flip the ticket, tho i suppose bobby is younger …
he should get another ribbon for going above and beyond the call of duty facing the unattentive Congress crapweasels.
Petraeus/Condi Rice 2012!!!
Ahh a Lion #26…
I think you are right about Hillary becoming the nominee….BHO has been exposed - the Emporer wears no clothes…
The problem the Dems face with Hillary is her “Viewed Negatively” rating. Half of the country already despises her. With McCain basically being a Democrat himself, it will not be too hard for a large number of democrats to cross over and vote for him. The idea of having to listen to her cackle and shriek from the White House for the next four years is probably more than most people, including moderate Dems, can take.
Iran? We better wake up as a country to the situation there. If you have a teen-age bully down the block who is terrorizing other kids and threatening the neighbors, you better go ahead and straighten his ass out and rearrange his way of thinking before he gets on steroids and becomes tough to handle.
I like the analogy, but I think it wrong in a couple ways. In this case Israel would be a ‘kid’, Iran would be the ‘bully’, and Iraq would be the ‘neighbors’. I think you nailed Iraq as being a neighbor, but Iran should be re-labeled as a stupid kid throwing rocks over a fence, Israel should be a pitbull on the other side of that fence, and the US should be the fence.
dang, Ahh a Lion, I hit the wrong button…forgot comment. Meant to add:
Hehehe…I like your analogy better. All we really need to do is “cut the leash” on the pitbull and let him take care of the brats that have been throwing rocks. Might be a harsh lesson, but they dang sure will stop throwing rocks.
Melinda #18
I’m so gald that your boy-friend is now getting the medical help he needs.
Thank you - too - for the picture of another part of the General’s character.
A true leader: leads from the front and looks out for those whom he (or she) leads.
The more I read about General Petraeus, the greater is my respect for him. He is a TRUE LEADER!
God bless General Petraeus, and God bless America.
I don’t think he’s interested in VP. He strikes me as sincere in his statements concerning politics, and is a fine general. I could see him as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a McCain administration. Unfortunately, I still think it’s gonna be a Clinton administration, part II.
Hope I’m wrong about that! Congratulations, General Petraeus.
This is great news for America. G-d’s speed General.
Please get a hair cut, and do not make me come over there and polish your boots.
Christian Soldier #35,
Thank you for your response and your serivce (if you’re a soldier! )
He is recovering nicely. They think that he has Chrohn’s disease which is something they couldn’t diagnose in Iraq. He sounds happier and he says he’s feeling better!
So far, so good! Now we just need to get his weight up!
If it weren’t for the General he probably would’ve wasted away to nothingness and died as a result of negligence.
His Physician wanted to have him taken out of Iraq, but couldn’t get the authority.
I thank God for the blessing that he has given to me and to Jason’s family. He’s given us more time on earth together.
How about that?
Make him a 5-star G!
God bless Petraeus for the humanity and compassion. And God bless all the military over there and elsewhere.
5 stars can only be done in a formally declared war …
/i mean, if we get a better congress in ‘09 i suppose we could hope for that, but prolly not too likely …
Congrats and good luck. I can’t wait to see the moonbats reaction.
My always continuing tribute to the Peacebringer with the 97 cartoons at Pro General Petraeus, Anti Betray Us Editorial Cartoons. Enjoy, and join me in saluting a fine strategist and brave Democrat-defier!
Ladies and Gentlemen this outstanding individual is exactly the right man for the job as I am sure you all know. However, did you know that this man also is a rare breed so far as that while under attack in Iraq, he actually walked towards the sound of mortar fire with only his pistol drawn?
God Bless this fine man, I thank God people like him exist.