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U.S. high command shifts leaders in Iraq

Gen. David Petraeus is still the top commander.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military in Iraq is undergoing its biggest changeover in senior commanders since Gen. David Petraeus launched a new counterinsurgency strategy nearly a year ago.

The high-level shifts come at a particularly delicate stage in the war as U.S. troop levels begin to decline, Iraqis are handed more security responsibility, and Petraeus seeks to ensure that the gains achieved over the past several months continue.

Topping the list of departures is Petraeus' second-in-command, Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, who is due to leave in February when the 3rd Corps finishes its command tour and returns to Fort Hood, Texas. He will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of 18th Airborne Corps, from Fort Bragg, N.C.

"He's really done an amazing job with this counterinsurgency," said Frederick Kagan, a military historian at the American Enterprise Institute, referring to Odierno. "He has it all at his fingertips, and there is no way that anyone could come in and immediately be functioning at that level."

But there comes a point where a commander becomes worn down and should be replaced, Kagan said.

He foresees a "temporary degradation" in command effectiveness when Odierno leaves, tempered by the fact that Petraeus and his staff will remain to ensure a degree of continuity.

Odierno said in an Associated Press interview last week that he sees no reason to back away from the plan President Bush announced in September to withdraw more than 21,000 U.S. troops by July 2008, even though the recent security gains are fragile and Iraqi force improvements are uneven.

"The trends that I've seen have continued now for about 23 weeks - trends of decrease in attacks, decrease in IEDs (roadside bombs), decrease in civilian deaths and ethno-sectarian violence," Odierno said.

Barry McCaffrey, a retired Army general who returned Tuesday from a weeklong visit to Iraq, said in a telephone interview that he has no concern about the current turnover of commanders.

"The only thing I'd be worried about is, when does Petraeus leave?" McCaffrey said.

FAST FACTS

Homes targeted

A suicide car bomber killed two guards Tuesday at a checkpoint near the Baghdad homes and offices of two prominent politicians, including former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Both men were out of the country.

[Last modified December 12, 2007, 01:23:39]