BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

It seems after General Petraeus’ recent testimony before Congress, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and President Bush have decided to move the 55 year old general up to the next level.

Well, it seems that after Admiral Fallon took a hit for his outspoken view of the wars, Petraeus was standing in the wings ready to move on up to fill the admiral’s shoes and his command.

According to the NYT

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 Wednesday.

Mr. Gates said that he and President Bush had 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 “asymmetric” 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 is widely regarded as one of the American military’s leading experts on counterinsurgency.

The ever diplomatic General Petraeus issued a brief statement from Baghdad.

“I am honored to be nominated for this position and to have an opportunity to continue to serve with America’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guardsmen and civilians.”

Perhaps, the nomination will be confirmed in short time.  Petraeus has managed a war in Iraq that has had few upsides, although I’m sure there are many who would take exception with my view.  But, the general has done the best he could do with stressed troops who have served too long and endured too many tours.  Of course, we have to admit that Petraeus has worked under extreme conditions to generate the “fragile” and “reversible” situation in Iraq.  Moving him up to the next command position could be a signal to Iran to stay on the p’s and q’s, since Petraeus indicated in his most recent testimony that Iran serves as a major influence on the Iraqi government and provides weapons for the insurgents.