Dems fear Petraeus may try to win war

Time:

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While Republicans hailed the news that Petraeus - who implemented the "surge" of 30,000 additional U.S. troops into Iraq, which is seen has having tamped down violence - was moving up the chain of command, Democrats were cooler. Opponents of the war fear that if the Democrat-led Senate approves Petraeus's promotion, it could be taken as a signal to "stay the course" in a war that has dragged on for more than five years and has killed more than 4,000 U.S. troops. Party activists will be paying close attention to how Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama vote on Petraeus's new assignment, which the White House hopes will happen by the end of May. (Presumptive G.O.P. nominee John McCain hailed Petraeus' nomination, calling him "one of the great generals in American history.")

Democrats are unlikely to mount a campaign to block Petraeus' promotion. Yet Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the next CENTCOM commander must come with new plans for Iraq "if directed to by a new President." Petraeus hedged last month when asked what he would say if a new President were to order a withdrawal plan within 60 days of taking office. He verbally juggled risks and objectives before conceding, "We take orders and we follow them."

The impact of promoting Petraeus, however, may be even greater in the national security establishment than on Capitol Hill. It's a wake-up call to old-school Army officers and their vanishing dreams of massive tank battles and artillery skirmishes, some of whom privately call Petraeus "King David" for his high self-regard and chumminess with reporters. Gates has made clear that wants commanders able to carry out the messy, irregular kind of combat championed by Petraeus that the Defense Secretary envisages the U.S. fighting for years to come. The promotion reinforces the message he delivered to young Air Force and Army officers on Monday, when he criticized their leaders for devoting too much time and effort to future potential wars, and not enough to the real wars now under way.

"The kinds of conflicts that we're doing, not just in Iraq but in Afghanistan, and some of the challenges that we face elsewhere in the region and in the Central Command area, are very much characterized by asymmetric warfare," Gates said. "And I don't know anybody in the United States military better qualified [than Petraeus] to lead that effort." Gates said he had discussed Petraeus's promotion with Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the armed services committee, and said he didn't "anticipate any problems" in winning Senate approval. Petraeus, in a brief statement from Baghdad, said he is "honored to be nominated for this position."

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They know they would look bad opposing him, but they still fear the consequences of victory in Iraq and what that would do to their plan to use the war in Iraq for the purpose of opposing future use of force resolutions. The promotion is good news for Centcom and for the operations in Afghanistan and probably future operations in Pakistan.

The Small Wars Journal has more commentary on the two promotions.