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Kristol: Petraeus to CENTCOM

11:32 AM, Apr 23, 2008 • By WILLIAM KRISTOL
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AP reports:

The Associated Press has learned that Gen. David Petraeus, the four-star general who has been leading troops in Iraq, has been tapped to become the next commander of U.S. Central Command....

Taking Petraeus' position as the senior commander in Iraq would be Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, who had until recently been serving as Petraeus' deputy.

The allegedly lame duck Bush administration has--if this report is correct--hit a home run. CENTCOM is the central theater of the war on terror, and the president is putting our best commander in charge of it. What Odierno achieved as day-to-day commander in Iraq was amazing (see Fred and Kim Kagan's article, "The Patton of Counterinsurgency"), and he's clearly the right choice for MNFI. Bush has done the right thing, overriding opposition from within the Pentagon. He deserves congratulations--and thanks.

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