Gen. Petraeus Tapped for CENTCOM Post | 26 comments
My thoughts. . . . (4.00 / 1)
As Ambassador Crocker told us recently that al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan was a greater threat to our national security, I'm surprised that General Petraeus--the Iraq commander--has been named as the new head of CENTCOM.  This shows an absolute devotion on the Bush administration's part to placing the needs of Iraq ahead of the needs of America.  As Afghanistan and Pakistan have become the greater problem, it would be more appropriate for the Bush administration to appoint a recent Afghanistan commander to lead CENTCOM.  Remember, while General Petraeus will now be responsible for the fight in Afghanistan, he has never served in Afghanistan.
Perhaps (0.00 / 0)
General McNeill would have been a better choice?  

I'm on twitter.
[ Parent | ]
Need fresh eyes (0.00 / 0)
I would disagree with both you and Brandon.

The officer selected for this position should be chosen from a pool that may have served in the AOR in the past but should not be just from the AOR.

Soldiers are rotated for very good reason and that is to get fresh eyes into the mix. Prior service in the AOR would be a plus as long as it was not the most recent assignment.

As a caveat, I would say that the position should preferably be first filled by a Marine or Army Officer before going to another Service. But that criteria could be eliminated for the right candidate.  

[ Parent | ]
No, I don't mean that the new CENTCOM commander (0.00 / 0)
should come directly from a current position in Afghanistan.  But I do think at this point that the new CENTCOM leader should at least have some experience in that theater at some point in the past.
[ Parent | ]
SOUTHCOM 1989 (0.00 / 0)
In 1989 GEN Woerner, was eseentially relieved of his position as Commander SOUTCOM because in effect he had gone "native." Surprisingly, it was done by none other than Bush 41 and SOD Cheney.

I, and many others, are beginning to believe that GEN P has also "gone native" vis a vis Iraq.

He has lost sight of the larger picture be it from the region and most importantly from the health of the US Army.

His confirmation questioning should follow the learning objectives of the senior service colleges. If he has not embraced those learning objectives as they pertain the force at large, then he is not fit for additional responsibilities.  

[ Parent | ]
Great point. (0.00 / 0)

[ Parent | ]
Gen. Petraeus Tapped for CENTCOM Post | 26 comments
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