Petraeus to hand over Iraq command on Sept 16

US General David Petraeus, the man credited with curbing sectarian violence in Iraq, will hand the command of US-led forces in Iraq to General Raymond Odierno on September 16, his spokesman said Sunday.

Petraeus will take over as the new chief of Central Command in late October, with responsibility for US troops from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia, including live conflicts in Afghanistan and
Iraq, Colonel Steven Boylan said.

The expected shift will come at a time when pressure is growing to beef up the US troop presence in Afghanistan, where the level of violence is now higher than in Iraq.

In July, Petraeus was approved by the US Senate to head Central Command after Admiral William Fallon abruptly stepped down from the post in March, saying that reports describing him as at odds with the White House over how to deal with Iran had become "a distraction."

About 144,000 US soldiers are currently on the ground in Iraq but that number could decrease in coming months.

Before leaving Iraq, Petraeus will offer to US President George W. Bush his recommendations on troop cuts in Iraq amid a drop in violence which is currently at a four-year low.

Petraeus, the architect of the troop surge strategy credited by the Bush administration with improving security in Iraq, arrived in Baghdad in February last year with the launch of a surge of 30,000 US troops.

Aside from having more troops at his disposal, Petraeus also embarked on a counter-insurgency strategy that underscored the importance of winning Iraqi hearts and minds.

His strategy demanded that US soldiers engage with and respect citizens while relentlessly pursuing Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups blamed for destabilizing the nation of more than 26 million people.

The gains made since late last year have already allowed Washington to withdraw five combat brigades that were deployed as part of the surge.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Petraeus said US combat troops could be out of Baghdad by July 2009. He told the London-based business daily that Iraq was a "dramatically changed country" since he took over in February 2007, pointing to a "degree of hope that was not present 19 months ago."

Petraeus insisted, however, that "innumerable challenges" still remain, particularly the unresolved status of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, persistent sectarian tensions, and the continuing if diminished capabilities of Al-Qaeda.