Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Kansas City Star
April 28, 2008
Pg. B8
By Steven O'Hern
In the last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has made two bold moves that demonstrate his intent to change the department he leads. This is good news and should be continued by his successor, who will be selected by the next president.
Gates' nomination of General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, to be the next commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is the perfect choice for that important role. No general officer is more responsible for whatever success has been achieved in Iraq than Petraeus. His leadership is needed for U.S. operations in the Persian Gulf and in Afghanistan.
Petraeus learned counterinsurgency firsthand as he led the Army's 101st Airborne Division in Mosul during the early days of the war and then commanded efforts to train Iraqi soldiers and police officers. In 2005 and 2006, Petraeus, along with Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Mattis, headed the effort to re-write the military's counterinsurgency policy. For the last year, Petraeus has implemented the new counterinsurgency policy that has reduced violence in Iraq.
Factors other than the surge of an additional 30,000 troops have reduced violence. These include armed Sunni groups who have fought al-Qaida in Iraq and the ceasefire between U.S. forces and the Shiite Mahdi Army that was ordered by Moqtada al-Sadr. Recognizing the importance of politics in counterinsurgency, Petraeus collaborated with Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, to encourage, negotiate, and implement the Sunni "reawakening" and the Mahdi Army ceasefire.
Placing Petraeus in charge of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf makes a strong statement to those who still view counterinsurgency as a sideshow, taking people and money from a military that relies on advanced technology to fight large military foes, not unconventional wars.
Earlier this week, Gates chastised the military services in a speech to the Air War College. He told the audience of Air Force officers that getting military leaders to help commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan was "like pulling teeth." Gates blamed military leaders who were "stuck in old ways of doing business."
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno recently served as the No. 2 general in Iraq under Petraeus and is well suited to continue the counterinsurgency success begun under Petraeus.
Congress should confirm the appointments of both officers.
Steven O'Hern is a retired U.S. Air Force Reserve colonel who served in Iraq and the author of The Intelligence Wars, a book about intelligence operations against the Iraq insurgency to be published by Prometheus Books in the fall. He lives in Overland Park.
April 28, 2008
Pg. B8
By Steven O'Hern
In the last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has made two bold moves that demonstrate his intent to change the department he leads. This is good news and should be continued by his successor, who will be selected by the next president.
Gates' nomination of General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, to be the next commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is the perfect choice for that important role. No general officer is more responsible for whatever success has been achieved in Iraq than Petraeus. His leadership is needed for U.S. operations in the Persian Gulf and in Afghanistan.
Petraeus learned counterinsurgency firsthand as he led the Army's 101st Airborne Division in Mosul during the early days of the war and then commanded efforts to train Iraqi soldiers and police officers. In 2005 and 2006, Petraeus, along with Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Mattis, headed the effort to re-write the military's counterinsurgency policy. For the last year, Petraeus has implemented the new counterinsurgency policy that has reduced violence in Iraq.
Factors other than the surge of an additional 30,000 troops have reduced violence. These include armed Sunni groups who have fought al-Qaida in Iraq and the ceasefire between U.S. forces and the Shiite Mahdi Army that was ordered by Moqtada al-Sadr. Recognizing the importance of politics in counterinsurgency, Petraeus collaborated with Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, to encourage, negotiate, and implement the Sunni "reawakening" and the Mahdi Army ceasefire.
Placing Petraeus in charge of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf makes a strong statement to those who still view counterinsurgency as a sideshow, taking people and money from a military that relies on advanced technology to fight large military foes, not unconventional wars.
Earlier this week, Gates chastised the military services in a speech to the Air War College. He told the audience of Air Force officers that getting military leaders to help commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan was "like pulling teeth." Gates blamed military leaders who were "stuck in old ways of doing business."
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno recently served as the No. 2 general in Iraq under Petraeus and is well suited to continue the counterinsurgency success begun under Petraeus.
Congress should confirm the appointments of both officers.
Steven O'Hern is a retired U.S. Air Force Reserve colonel who served in Iraq and the author of The Intelligence Wars, a book about intelligence operations against the Iraq insurgency to be published by Prometheus Books in the fall. He lives in Overland Park.