Petraeus Gives Troubled Afghan Mission a Trusted Name (Update2)
By Viola Gienger and Tony Capaccio
June 24 (Bloomberg) -- General David Petraeus commands a respect in Congress and on foreign battlefields that may enhance the U.S. and NATO mission in a decisive phase against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama’s announcement yesterday that he’s replacing General Stanley McChrystal for remarks disparaging administration officials thrusts Petraeus back into the role of leading a major combat effort to reverse enemy gains. Petraeus, who wrote the Army’s book on counterinsurgency, took charge in Iraq in 2007 as the Bush administration started a troop surge that stabilized a nation on the verge of civil war.
“From the standpoint of continuity and consistency of approach and direction, I think this is a very good choice,” said retired Lieutenant General James Dubik, who’s been friends with Petraeus for more than 25 years and served with him in Iraq. “It lowers the risk of any significant loss of momentum.”
The president said the shift in command “is a change in personnel, but it is not a change in policy.”
Petraeus, 57, was named the top U.S. commander for the Middle East and Central Asia in 2008. He supervised both wars and coordinated with civilians and partners in the Afghanistan coalition led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Decisive Moment
He takes over as the U.S. completes the deployment of 30,000 additional troops Obama authorized in December in an effort to halt the Taliban resurgence that has increased deaths of U.S. and allied soldiers to the fastest pace in the war. With a four-month-old offensive stalled in the southern province of Helmand, the U.S. has delayed what it described as a decisive drive in the neighboring Taliban heartland of Kandahar.
The U.S. plans to reassess the strategy in December and train enough Afghan soldiers and police to allow a drawdown to begin in July 2011. That pullout date has drawn criticism from Republicans.
The “policy is confusing,” said Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. “It undercuts the war effort. It empowers our enemies. It confuses our friends.”
Said Senator John McCain of Arizona, “If you tell the enemy when you are leaving” it “has an adverse effect on your ability to succeed.”
Both said they support Petraeus.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, who also backs Petraeus, scheduled a confirmation hearing for Tuesday and said he hoped the committee would vote that same day to forward the nomination to the full Senate. The Michigan Democrat said Petraeus assured him only the “pace” of troop withdrawal, not the start of such movement, will be determined by conditions in Afghanistan.
Afghan Respect
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who urged Obama to keep McChrystal, “respects” Obama’s decision, spokesman Waheed Omar said in a telephone interview.
Karzai’s chief rival in last year’s fraud-tainted presidential election, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, said Petraeus is well placed to build a broader relationship with Afghan leaders that could enhance public support in the country for the U.S. strategy.
“This change may be for the best, because General McChrystal was relying very heavily” on a close relationship with Karzai, who has lost political support over corruption within his government.
Petraeus has worked to build a relationship with Pakistan’s army, the key counterpart for U.S. forces in the region. Petraeus visited Pakistan at least five times in the past 17 months, and has hosted Pakistan’s overall commander, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, at the Central Command headquarters.
Iraq War
Articulate and media-friendly, Petraeus is the best-known commander to emerge from the Iraq War. His 101st Airborne Division joined the initial invasion and was then assigned to pacify Mosul, Iraq’s third-largest city.
That’s where he drew attention for his emphasis on economic development and political outreach.
Fifteen months after being sent to Iraq, Petraeus was reassigned to a training center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, amid reports that the Pentagon, then run by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, was unhappy with his high profile.
He returned to Iraq in early 2007 to implement the surge of troops that President George W. Bush ordered.
Petraeus became the head of U.S. Central Command in 2008, when Admiral William Fallon resigned after an article in Esquire magazine depicted him as being at odds with Bush over Iran.
Allies Support
Obama’s choice of Petraeus won support from allies. The general is the “right man to take command” of troops in Afghanistan, said a spokesman for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron.
The British deputy commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, Lieutenant General Nick Parker, will lead the coalition until Petraeus is confirmed. Lieutenant General David Rodriguez, who runs day-to-day operations in Afghanistan, will act as U.S. commander until Petraeus takes over.
NATO-led forces and their Afghan partners have suffered setbacks in trying to secure the town of Marjah in the southern province of Helmand after a February offensive, and McChrystal slowed the pace of the Kandahar advance to allow more time for civilian efforts to secure law and order and local support.
Petraeus last week sought to reassure members of Congress that the campaign in Afghanistan is making progress.
He was pressed by the Senate Armed Services Committee over how many troops might be withdrawn in July 2011, how quickly that would proceed and how significant the scheduled December review of the strategy will be.
He told the committee the planned drawdown date was useful for sending a message to the Afghan government that it must step up preparations to take over.
“It is important that July 2011 be seen for what it is, a date when a process begins based on conditions,” Petraeus said. He pledged a “responsible drawdown” of U.S. forces.
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