Chiarelli reported likely to succeed Petraeus

[unhappycamper]

Chiarelli reported likely to succeed Petraeus
Staff report
Posted : Tuesday Feb 26, 2008 21:30:01 EST

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli is the likely officer to succeed Gen. David H. Petraeus as the top commander in Iraq by the end of the year.

Chiarelli, the senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, preceded Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno as commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq. Previously, Chiarelli commanded the 1st Cavalry Division during its first rotation in Iraq.

The other two leading candidates — Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey — have been named to other positions, according to the Post.

McChrystal, a veteran special operations officer, has been nominated to become director of the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Dempsey, the deputy chief of Central Command, has been nominated to be the top commander in Europe, the Post reported.

According to the Post, “opinions inside the Army are mixed, with some officers noting that Chiarelli was one of the first advocates of shifting course in Iraq and adopting classic counterinsurgency techniques, while others say that in his second tour, he presided over a failing strategy as violence skyrocketed. Some influential insiders are still advocating that Odierno, who was recently nominated to become the Army’s vice chief of staff, replace Petraeus later this year.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/army_chiarelli_022608w/