Petraeus officially takes control

"Gen. David H. Petraeus, assuming his position as the new U.S. military commander in Iraq, said Saturday that the "rucksack of responsibility" was too heavy to carry alone there and that without cooperation between Iraqi and U.S. forces, "Iraq will be doomed to continued violence and civil strife."
During a handover ceremony below the crystal chandelier and marble columns in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, Petraeus characterized the challenges facing Iraq as daunting but said that "these tasks are achievable, this mission is doable." Promoted to the rank of four-star general, Petraeus will lead a growing U.S. force of more than 130,000 troops in Iraq in an attempt to contain the sectarian killing, especially in violence-racked Baghdad." [1]

" 'The stakes are very high. The way ahead will be hard, and there undoubtedly will be many tough days. But as I recently told members of the U.S. Senate, hard is not hopeless,' said Petraeus, who took over for 58-year-old Gen. George Casey.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez was Casey's predecessor and his tenure was marred by the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. He has since retired.
The Sunni insurgency broke out during Sanchez's command, and the conflict in Iraq took on the many of the aspects of a civil war during Casey's tenure. Casey had focused on attempts to train Iraqi forces and on plans to turn over control of security to the Iraqi Army and national police." [2]

"Among American military officers, General Petraeus is considered an imaginative leader with a deep understanding of Iraq’s problems, culled from two tours here. But for some in Baghdad, his assumption of control looked routine.
“The commanders change every now and then,” said Naseer al-Ani, a Sunni member of Parliament. “I don’t think that changing the commander will have a significant impact on the American policy.”
. . . Sami al-Askari, an aide to the prime minister, said the Iraqi government supported General Petraeus and had high hopes for his tenure.
'The character of the commander affects the performance of the military command,' he said. 'General Casey had a certain perspective in fighting terrorism, but we hope that General Petraeus will be more cooperative with the Iraqi command based on his past experience in Iraq, and the relationship will be smoother and more positive.' " [3]

source
[1] Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). Path in Iraq Hard But Not Hopeless, U.S. General Says. February 11, 2007.
[2] Frayer, Lauren. (The Associated Press). New U.S. Commander Takes Over in Iraq. February 10, 2007.
[3] Cave, Damien. (The New York Times). New Boss Takes Reins of U.S. Forces in Iraq. February 11, 2007.

posted: tuesday, february 13, 2007, 6:53 PM ET

tags: iraq petraeus casey