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| Iraq |
| Perfumed Prince to replace General Casey |
| 2007-01-06 |
| United States President George Bush is embarking on a sweeping overhaul of the US diplomatic and military leadership in Iraq as he puts the finishing touches on a retooled war-fighting strategy. Bush, expected to unveil his new plan for Iraq in a speech as early as Wednesday, also filled a critical diplomatic vacancy in Washington and named a new US spy chief. The reshuffle -- begun when Bush dumped defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld late last year -- came on Friday as Democrats who now control the US Congress warned against sending more US troops to Iraq and demanded an end to the war. The Republican president moved to replace the head of the US Central Command that oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the commander of the US-led forces in Iraq, and pushed ahead with plans to make the US ambassador there, Zalmay Khalilzad, the new US envoy to the United Nations. Replacing Khalilzad in Baghdad, officials said, would be Ryan Crocker (57), the US ambassador in Pakistan since November 2004. Crocker is one of the State Department's most experienced Middle East experts and a fluent Arabic speaker. Admiral William Fallon (62), currently head of US forces in the Pacific, would replace retiring General John Abizaid at the Central Command, which manages the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Fallon was a navy combat pilot during the Vietnam War, commanded an attack squadron during the first Gulf War in 1991 and was involved in Nato's Operation Deliberate Force in Bosnia. In Iraq, Lieutenant General ( |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #13 USN, ret. don't buy it, the donks will continue to play to the Angry Left but don't want to go down in history as the party that called for our defeat. Bush is calling their hand. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2007-01-06 23:37 |
| #12 Put me down in the "Too little, too late" column. The Dems will strangle any serious moves by cutting funds, or earmarking them so the only thing you can do with them is 1) bring troops home, and 2) buy mass quantities of K-Y for what is going to happen to us next. |
| Posted by: USN, ret. 2007-01-06 22:41 |
| #11 It's time to get serious about Baghdad-Anbar-Tehran-Damascus Amen and friggin A to that! |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-01-06 21:57 |
| #10 I'm pleased with the new line-up. It's time to get serious about Baghdad-Anbar-Tehran-Damascus. The new line-up strikes me as equipped for a regional take-down. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2007-01-06 19:45 |
| #9 Fallon is hired becasue he is an appeaser. That's his MO in WESTPAC with the PRC. Much as I dislike it, Fallon didn't conduct rapport with the PRC as a 'lone ranger'. Like I said, if Iran becomes the next in line, it might not hurt to have somebody who has experience, and is on speaking terms with the Chinese. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2007-01-06 18:49 |
| #8 Wesley Clark is a bean-counter. Petreus is a warrior. There's a world of difference between the two men. Petreus wants to change the ROE in the entire Middle East to something far more aggressive than it currently is. Bush and Casey will have their hands full with him. He's also intelligent - someone who can be convincing without being overbearing, and who can provide excellent reasons for doing what he wants to do. He's not Patton - more like Bradley - but he can get the job done. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-01-06 16:17 |
| #7 Like I said yesterday...Fallon is hired becasue he is an appeaser. That's his MO in WESTPAC with the PRC. He was brought in as a signal that the war is over. And he's not a plane driver he's a FO. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2007-01-06 16:08 |
| #6 Awards and decorations earned by General Petraeus include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Defense Superior Service Medal, four awards of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal for valor, the State Department Superior Honor Award, the NATO Meritorious Service Medal, and the Gold Award of the Iraqi Order of the Date Palm. He is a Master Parachutist and is Air Assault and Ranger qualified. He has also earned the Combat Action Badge and French, British, and German Jump Wings. In the fall of 2005, he was recognized by the U.S. News and World Report as one of AmericaÂ’s 25 Best. If on top of all these decoration he's perfumed then he's a real Prince! |
| Posted by: SwissTex 2007-01-06 16:06 |
| #5 Unlike Wesley Clark. |
| Posted by: occasional observer 2007-01-06 13:49 |
| #4 Keep your eye on Petraeus. He's smart, effective, and charisimatic. Future POTUS material if he's interested, IMO. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2007-01-06 13:11 |
| #3 Got it for Fallon. But for Petraeus, who is replacing Casey? The man commanded the 101st Airborne in air assault OIF combat, for goodness sake, and the 82nd before that! |
| Posted by: occasional observer 2007-01-06 12:38 |
| #2 If he doesn't jump out of a perfectly good aircraft, he's a 'perfumed prince'. Command of an attack squadron, an attack wing, a carrier wing during Desert Storm, a carrier group, a battle force (CTF 60) during Bosnia, the Second Fleet,, Striking Fleet Atlantic doesn't count. Oh, and joint task force work in the Magic Kingdom and with NATO doesn't count either... I'm not crazy about Fallon's 'reach out to the Chinese'. However, considering Iran is still in the picture, it might not hurt to have somebody with air combat and JTF experience and who's on speaking terms with the Chinese defense establishment. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2007-01-06 11:59 |
| #1 Petraeus is no "perfumed prince". His men fought hard and effectively under his command and he's highly thought of by most who've served under him. |
| Posted by: occasional observer 2007-01-06 10:41 |