Petraeus To Hand Over Iraq Command On Sept 16

A picture combo shows US army General David Petraeus (L) and US Lt General Raymond Odierno (R). Petraeus, the man credited with curbing sectarian violence in Iraq, will hand the command of US-led forces in Iraq to Odierno on September 16, his spokesman said Sunday. (AFP/File/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Petraeus To Hand Over Iraq Command On Sept 16
-- Yahoo News/AFP

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US General David Petraeus, the man credited with curbing sectarian violence in Iraq, will hand the command of US-led forces in Iraq to General Raymond Odierno on September 16, his spokesman said Sunday.

"He will hand over the command on September 16 in Baghdad," Colonel Steven Boylan told AFP.

Petraeus will take over as the new chief of Central Command in late October, with responsibility for US troops from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia, including live conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, Boylan said

The expected shift will come at a time when pressure is growing to beef up the US troop presence in Afghanistan, where the level of violence is now higher than in Iraq.

In July, Petraeus was approved by the US Senate to head Central Command after Admiral William Fallon abruptly stepped down from the post in March, saying that reports describing him as at odds with the White House over how to deal with Iran had become "a distraction."

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