.New head of U.S. force in Iraq takes reins
BAGHDAD: General David Petraeus formally took command of U.S. troops in Iraq on Saturday, declaring that the mission here is hard but not hopeless.
Petraeus, who wore the fourth star of a full general for the first time during the handover ceremony, succeeds General George Casey Jr., who is returning to Washington to become the U.S. Army chief of staff. The new commander will oversee 132,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq and thousands more on their way to a country increasingly riven by sectarian violence, crime and corruption.
Petraeus, 54, and Casey, 58, both spoke at a formal handover ceremony on a military base outside Baghdad, striking tones of optimism and caution, while hinting at their different approaches to Iraq. For the past two and a half years, Casey has pushed for a speedy transfer of control to Iraqi security forces so that U.S. troops could withdraw; Petraeus, an expert in counterinsurgency, has instead supported a more active U.S. role, in line with new White House demands.
"The rucksack of responsibility is very heavy," Petraeus said, after beginning his speech with the Muslim greeting "salaam aleikum," or "peace be upon you."
"In truth, it is too heavy for any one person to bear, and we will all have to share the burdens and move forward together," he said.
"If we can do that and if we can help the people of Iraq do likewise, then the prospects for success are good," he said. "Failing that, Iraq will be doomed to continuing violence and civil strife and surely that is a prospect all must strive to avoid. The stakes are very high."
Casey, whose policies have come under blistering attack recently in Congress, emphasized that Iraq would need to take responsibility for its own troubles if it was to ever move forward. Before the ceremony, he told reporters: "Everything is not as I would have expected it to be or wanted it to be on my way out. But that's kind of the way things are."
Asked about whether he had made any mistakes in his tenure, he said, "The main point that people will debate for some time to come is whether I relied too much on Iraqi security forces to carry the security load and too little on coalition forces."
"But I'm certainly not ready to say that's a mistake," he said. "I'll let history judge that."
He later added: "My greatest fear is that Iraqis can't put the past behind them. We liberated them from 35 years of tyranny. We can't liberate them from the fears and prejudices that grew up in that 35 years. They have to do that themselves."
A few hours later, the U.S. military announced in a statement that three U.S. soldiers were killed Friday and four others wounded in an explosion at a building in Diyala, a province northeast of Baghdad. The statement said the explosion took place as the soldiers searched the building for weapons.
Residents of the area, just west of Baquba, said that a gunbattle between U.S. troops and unidentified men followed the explosion, with U.S. helicopters hovering overhead. It was just the latest sign of trouble in the area, a stronghold of Sunni Arab insurgents who recently have stepped up attacks on Shiite families and U.S. forces. On Jan. 20, insurgents in the area shot down a Black Hawk helicopter, killing all 13 Americans aboard.
In the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada, a suicide car bomber killed five people and wounded 10 outside a bakery on Saturday. It was the latest in a recent series of bombings in the mostly Shiite area, and residents said that violence had become a numbing reality for them.
Mayson Umran, a bookstore owner, said she had been on her way to pick up sandwiches from a Kurdish kebab seller and friend when the explosion hit, shattering glass, destroying shops and scorching cars. She returned to discover her friend was killed, cut into pieces.
"It's become something normal," she said. "Even children have lost the sense of fear now because everyone is expecting an explosion at any minute."
"All of those who died today were simple people looking for their daily living," she said. "The terrorists want nothing but to keep Iraq unstable."
Iraqi officials, faced with such relentless violence, seemed unsure of whether a new U.S. commander — and the new plan — could clot the bloodshed. Among U.S. military officers, Petraeus is considered an imaginative leader with a deep understanding of Iraq's problems, culled from two tours here. But for some in Baghdad, his assumption of control looked routine.
"The commanders change every now and then," said Naseer al-Ani, a Sunni member of Parliament. "I don't think that changing the commander will have a significant impact on the American policy."
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki did not attend the ceremony, although Iraq's security adviser and other officials were present. Sami al-Askari, an aide to the prime minister, said that the Iraqi government supported Petraeus and had high hopes for his ability to help resuscitate the country.
"The character of the commander affects the performance of the military command," he said. "General Casey had a certain perspective in fighting terrorism, but we hope that General Petraeus will be more cooperative with the Iraqi command based on his past experience in Iraq, and the relationship will be smoother and more positive."
IHT
Petraeus, who wore the fourth star of a full general for the first time during the handover ceremony, succeeds General George Casey Jr., who is returning to Washington to become the U.S. Army chief of staff. The new commander will oversee 132,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq and thousands more on their way to a country increasingly riven by sectarian violence, crime and corruption.
Petraeus, 54, and Casey, 58, both spoke at a formal handover ceremony on a military base outside Baghdad, striking tones of optimism and caution, while hinting at their different approaches to Iraq. For the past two and a half years, Casey has pushed for a speedy transfer of control to Iraqi security forces so that U.S. troops could withdraw; Petraeus, an expert in counterinsurgency, has instead supported a more active U.S. role, in line with new White House demands.
"The rucksack of responsibility is very heavy," Petraeus said, after beginning his speech with the Muslim greeting "salaam aleikum," or "peace be upon you."
"In truth, it is too heavy for any one person to bear, and we will all have to share the burdens and move forward together," he said.
"If we can do that and if we can help the people of Iraq do likewise, then the prospects for success are good," he said. "Failing that, Iraq will be doomed to continuing violence and civil strife and surely that is a prospect all must strive to avoid. The stakes are very high."
Casey, whose policies have come under blistering attack recently in Congress, emphasized that Iraq would need to take responsibility for its own troubles if it was to ever move forward. Before the ceremony, he told reporters: "Everything is not as I would have expected it to be or wanted it to be on my way out. But that's kind of the way things are."
Asked about whether he had made any mistakes in his tenure, he said, "The main point that people will debate for some time to come is whether I relied too much on Iraqi security forces to carry the security load and too little on coalition forces."
"But I'm certainly not ready to say that's a mistake," he said. "I'll let history judge that."
He later added: "My greatest fear is that Iraqis can't put the past behind them. We liberated them from 35 years of tyranny. We can't liberate them from the fears and prejudices that grew up in that 35 years. They have to do that themselves."
A few hours later, the U.S. military announced in a statement that three U.S. soldiers were killed Friday and four others wounded in an explosion at a building in Diyala, a province northeast of Baghdad. The statement said the explosion took place as the soldiers searched the building for weapons.
Residents of the area, just west of Baquba, said that a gunbattle between U.S. troops and unidentified men followed the explosion, with U.S. helicopters hovering overhead. It was just the latest sign of trouble in the area, a stronghold of Sunni Arab insurgents who recently have stepped up attacks on Shiite families and U.S. forces. On Jan. 20, insurgents in the area shot down a Black Hawk helicopter, killing all 13 Americans aboard.
In the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada, a suicide car bomber killed five people and wounded 10 outside a bakery on Saturday. It was the latest in a recent series of bombings in the mostly Shiite area, and residents said that violence had become a numbing reality for them.
Mayson Umran, a bookstore owner, said she had been on her way to pick up sandwiches from a Kurdish kebab seller and friend when the explosion hit, shattering glass, destroying shops and scorching cars. She returned to discover her friend was killed, cut into pieces.
"It's become something normal," she said. "Even children have lost the sense of fear now because everyone is expecting an explosion at any minute."
"All of those who died today were simple people looking for their daily living," she said. "The terrorists want nothing but to keep Iraq unstable."
Iraqi officials, faced with such relentless violence, seemed unsure of whether a new U.S. commander — and the new plan — could clot the bloodshed. Among U.S. military officers, Petraeus is considered an imaginative leader with a deep understanding of Iraq's problems, culled from two tours here. But for some in Baghdad, his assumption of control looked routine.
"The commanders change every now and then," said Naseer al-Ani, a Sunni member of Parliament. "I don't think that changing the commander will have a significant impact on the American policy."
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki did not attend the ceremony, although Iraq's security adviser and other officials were present. Sami al-Askari, an aide to the prime minister, said that the Iraqi government supported Petraeus and had high hopes for his ability to help resuscitate the country.
"The character of the commander affects the performance of the military command," he said. "General Casey had a certain perspective in fighting terrorism, but we hope that General Petraeus will be more cooperative with the Iraqi command based on his past experience in Iraq, and the relationship will be smoother and more positive."
IHT
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