Gen. Ray Odierno takes over for Petraeus in Iraq
The new leader of U.S. forces in Iraq says he hopes to oversee a shift 'from a military lead to a political, diplomatic strategy.' Petraeus calls his replacement 'the perfect man for the job.'
Baghdad -- The Army general credited with overseeing the turnaround in Iraq's violence handed off the job today to his former No. 2, Gen. Ray Odierno, in a ceremony that mixed optimism with words of caution for the future.
In his first news briefing minutes after assuming command of 146,000 U.S. forces in Iraq, Odierno made clear he hoped his job, unlike Gen. David H. Petraeus', would involve more political and diplomatic wrangling than street fighting. Odierno also emphasized the need for Iraq's government to take advantage of the country's relative calm to carry out political reforms.
"What I hope to see sometime in the next year ... is an adjustment from a military lead to a political, diplomatic strategy," said Odierno, who was elevated to a four-star general minutes before today's hand-over. "That would coincide with a reduction of the U.S. presence ... and Iraqi security forces taking on the presence. I think that's part of the evolution of progress we hope to have here."
Odierno made a point of emphasizing the need for provincial elections, which U.S. officials have long said would balance lopsided power structures across the country that have contributed to sectarian and ethnic tensions. But Iraq's parliament has yet to pass legislation to clear the way for a vote, even though the elections are supposed to take place this year.
Odierno is on his third deployment to Iraq. He returns after just seven months away. His last tour ran from December 2006 through last February, when he served as Petraeus' No. 2 during some of Iraq's worst violence.
Petraeus, in parting remarks delivered in the cavernous rotunda of one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, said Odierno's experience made him "the perfect man for the job."
The outgoing commander, who is leaving to take over the U.S. Central Command, recalled the comments he had made in February 2007 when, in the same palace setting, he gave a somber assessment of the job facing troops. At that time, he warned that their job controlling Iraq's spiraling bloodshed was "hard but not hopeless."
"You truly have turned 'hard but not hopeless' into 'still hard, but hopeful,' " he said today before receiving a standing ovation from troops and political leaders.
