End Of Petraeus, Crocker Era Dawning

Gen. David Petraeus & Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

From CBS News:

(CBS/AP) One of the defining features of Gen. David Petraeus' tenure as leader of U.S. forces in Iraq is an unusually close partnership with his political counterpart here, Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

With that connection about to be broken, the question arises: Will it matter at this calmer but still fragile stage of the war?

Petraeus, widely credited as chief orchestrator of a generally successful counterinsurgency strategy, is due to depart in September. Crocker, among the State Department's most experienced Middle East hands, says he will stay until President Bush leaves the White House in January, then retire.

In an Associated Press interview, Petraeus said he and Crocker saw "inescapable merit" in a political-military synergy. So when they arrived in Baghdad in early 2007, with sectarian violence still raging, they wrote and then executed a classified "joint campaign plan" for countering the insurgency.

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My Comment: A classic example of how important it is for political and military organizations to work together. One of the disappointments with the Iraq war has been the U.S. State Departments impotence in being a major player in the development and establishment of a peaceful Iraq.

While Amb. Crocker is from the State Department, the men on the ground have been from the military. this lack of participation and involvement from State is a disappointment. I can only hope the same mistake will not be repeated in Afghanistan.