Petraeus in line to lead U.S. Central Command

Gen. David H. Petraeus, who has commanded U.S. troops in Iraq for the past year, will be nominated to head the U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations across a wide swath of the Middle East, Africa and Asia, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Wednesday.

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.

The necessary paperwork to make Petraeus' new assignment a reality will be speeded to the White House, and from there to the Senate, where Gates said he is confident of quick confirmation, based on his recent conversations with leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Significantly, Gates said, "I do not anticipate General Petraeus leaving Iraq before late summer or early fall." The time until the general's departure will promote "a good handoff," the secretary said.

Petraeus' replacement as the top commander within Iraq will be his former deputy, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno of the Army, Gates said.

Odierno recently returned to the United States from a 15-month tour in Iraq, and was in line to get a fourth star as Army vice chief of staff. He will get the fourth star, but as the new commander in Baghdad.

Gates said Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli will now be nominated for Army vice chief of staff instead of Odierno.

The announcement that Petraeus, 55, will head the Central Command, and Gates' emphasis on operations in Afghanistan as well as Iraq, reinforced the impression that Pentagon leaders expect the United States to have significant numbers of troops deployed in those two countries for some time to come.

In January, Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said that "trying to guess General Petraeus' next assignment is the most popular parlor game in the Pentagon these days."

That he was tapped to run the Central Command indicated the importance the Pentagon places on the command and on America showing no sign of flagging in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Petraeus' recent appearances on Capitol Hill, where he seemed to win the respect of lawmakers even as some of them voiced frustration over the Bush administration's policies, also bolstered the impression that there will be no quick pullout from Iraq. The general said then that the situation in Iraq, while improving, was still "fragile," and he discouraged any suggestion of a rapid reduction in troop strength.

Asked whether the general's selection to head the Central Command was a signal that the Pentagon would "stay the course" in Iraq, a phrase that has often been turned against the administration by its critics, Gates said that Petraeus' time as the top man in Iraq had been a good one, and that "staying that course is not a bad idea."