May 25, 2010
US commander in Iraq nominated for new post: Pentagon
Washington. The commander of US forces in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, will step down in the fall to take up a new assignment, after playing a pivotal role in the Iraq war, the Pentagon said on Monday, AFP informs.
President Barack Obama has nominated Odierno to lead US Joint Forces command, and proposed Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin as his successor in Iraq, spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
In his new role, Odierno will lead a command in charge of training and supplying forces for the military's regional commanders.
"I am proud of the progress we have made in Iraq and enjoy every day that I have the opportunity to work with the young men and women of our armed forces," Odierno said in a statement from Baghdad.
"I remain committed to our mission here in Iraq," he said.
Odierno had served as chief of the Army's III Corps and ran day-to-day operations in Iraq before taking over command of all US forces in the country in September 2008, succeeding General David Petraeus, now the head of Central Command.
Both Petraeus and Odierno are seen as the masterminds behind the "surge" of US troops in Iraq in 2007, which the military believes turned the tide in the war and reduced sectarian violence.
Odierno's son, Anthony, served as an officer in Iraq and lost an arm in an attack near Baghdad's airport in 2004. The four-star general has said the incident made him doubly determined to avoid a US defeat in Iraq.
In Obama's early days in office last year, Odierno argued forcefully for a slower pace in the drawdown of US troops and defense officials said he persuaded the president to adopt a more cautious approach for the withdrawal plan.
Pentagon officials said Odierno was probably due to leave around September, when US forces are due to be scaled back to 50,000 from the current level of 92,000.
FOCUS News Agency
US commander in Iraq nominated for new post: Pentagon
Washington. The commander of US forces in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, will step down in the fall to take up a new assignment, after playing a pivotal role in the Iraq war, the Pentagon said on Monday, AFP informs.
President Barack Obama has nominated Odierno to lead US Joint Forces command, and proposed Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin as his successor in Iraq, spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
In his new role, Odierno will lead a command in charge of training and supplying forces for the military's regional commanders.
"I am proud of the progress we have made in Iraq and enjoy every day that I have the opportunity to work with the young men and women of our armed forces," Odierno said in a statement from Baghdad.
"I remain committed to our mission here in Iraq," he said.
Odierno had served as chief of the Army's III Corps and ran day-to-day operations in Iraq before taking over command of all US forces in the country in September 2008, succeeding General David Petraeus, now the head of Central Command.
Both Petraeus and Odierno are seen as the masterminds behind the "surge" of US troops in Iraq in 2007, which the military believes turned the tide in the war and reduced sectarian violence.
Odierno's son, Anthony, served as an officer in Iraq and lost an arm in an attack near Baghdad's airport in 2004. The four-star general has said the incident made him doubly determined to avoid a US defeat in Iraq.
In Obama's early days in office last year, Odierno argued forcefully for a slower pace in the drawdown of US troops and defense officials said he persuaded the president to adopt a more cautious approach for the withdrawal plan.
Pentagon officials said Odierno was probably due to leave around September, when US forces are due to be scaled back to 50,000 from the current level of 92,000.
FOCUS News Agency
