On Sep 12, 2:20 pm, "William Black" <william.bl...@hotmail.co.uk>
wrote:
"D. Spencer Hines" <pant...@excelsior.com> wrote in messagenews:OaVFi.34$H_5.215@eagle.america.net...
General Petraeus also holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University's Woodrow
Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
This is one smart cookie.
He made those Democrat Cut & Run Senators look like fools at yesterday's
hearings.
Barbara Boxer was so frightened of him she ran out the clock so he
couldn't even respond to her hysterical tirade and hand-wringing episode.
DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Deus Vult
--------------------------------------------
An older summary, when he was a three-star:
Lieutenant General David H. Petraeus assumed command of the U.S. Army
Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth on October 20th, 2005 following
deployment in Iraq as the first commander of the Multi-National Security
Transition Command - Iraq, which he led from June 2004 to September 2005,
and the NATO Training Mission - Iraq, which he commanded from October 2004
to September 2005.
Prior to that deployment, he commanded the 101st Airborne Division (Air
Assault), leading the "Screaming Eagles" in combat during the first year
of
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
His command of the 101st followed a year deployed on Operation Joint Forge
in Bosnia, where he was the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the
NATO Stabilization Force and the Deputy Commander of the US Joint
Interagency Counter-Terrorism Task Force - Bosnia.
Prior to his tour in Bosnia, he spent two years at Fort Bragg, North
Carolina, serving first as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations
of the 82nd Airborne Division and then as the Chief of Staff of XVIII
Airborne Corps.
Lieutenant General Petraeus was commissioned in the Infantry upon
graduation
from the United States Military Academy in 1974.
He has held leadership positions in airborne, mechanized, and air assault
infantry units in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States,
including
command of a battalion in the 101st Airborne Division and a brigade in the
82nd Airborne Division.
In addition, he has held a number of staff assignments: Aide to the Chief
of
Staff of the Army; service as a battalion, brigade, and division
operations
officer; Military Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe;
Chief
of Operations of the United Nations Force in Haiti; and Executive
Assistant
to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Lieutenant General Petraeus was the General George C. Marshall Award
winner
as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
Class
of 1983.
He subsequently earned MPA and Ph.D. degrees in international relations
from
Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs, and later served as an Assistant Professor of International
Relations at the US Military Academy.
He also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University.
Awards and decorations earned by Lieutenant General Petraeus include the
Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, two
awards of the Defense Superior Service Medal, four awards of the Legion of
Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device, the State Department
Superior
Honor Award, and the Gold Award of the Iraqi Order of the Date Palm.
He is a Master Parachutist and Air Assault and Ranger qualified. He has
also
earned the Combat Action Badge and French, British, and German Jump Wings.
LTG Petraeus and his wife have two children, a son and a daughter.
But, in the words of Napoleon:
"Is he lucky?"
--
William Black
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.
He is not only luck he is a political, witness this non-political op-
ed peice from the equally non political Washington Post. Remember
Ambassador Wilson?
washingtonpost.com
Battling for Iraq
By David H. Petraeus
Sunday, September 26, 2004; Page B07
BAGHDAD -- Helping organize, train and equip nearly a quarter-million
of Iraq's security forces is a daunting task. Doing so in the middle
of a tough insurgency increases the challenge enormously, making the
mission akin to repairing an aircraft while in flight -- and while
being shot at. Now, however, 18 months after entering Iraq, I see
tangible progress. Iraqi security elements are being rebuilt from the
ground up.
The institutions that oversee them are being reestablished from the
top down. And Iraqi leaders are stepping forward, leading their
country and their security forces courageously in the face of an enemy
that has shown a willingness to do anything to disrupt the
establishment of the new Iraq.
In recent months, I have observed thousands of Iraqis in training and
then watched as they have conducted numerous operations. Although
there have been reverses -- not to mention horrific terrorist attacks
-- there has been progress in the effort to enable Iraqis to shoulder
more of the load for their own security, something they are keen to
do. The future undoubtedly will be full of difficulties, especially in
places such as Fallujah. We must expect setbacks and recognize that
not every soldier or policeman we help train will be equal to the
challenges ahead.
Nonetheless, there are reasons for optimism. Today approximately
164,000 Iraqi police and soldiers (of which about 100,000 are trained
and equipped) and an additional 74,000 facility protection forces are
performing a wide variety of security missions. Equipment is being
delivered. Training is on track and increasing in capacity.
Infrastructure is being repaired. Command and control structures and
institutions are being reestablished.
Most important, Iraqi security forces are in the fight -- so much so
that they are suffering substantial casualties as they take on more
and more of the burdens to achieve security in their country. Since
Jan. 1 more than 700 Iraqi security force members have been killed,
and hundreds of Iraqis seeking to volunteer for the police and
military have been killed as well.
Six battalions of the Iraqi regular army and the Iraqi Intervention
Force are now conducting operations. Two of these battalions, along
with the Iraqi commando battalion, the counterterrorist force, two
Iraqi National Guard battalions and thousands of policemen recently
contributed to successful operations in Najaf. Their readiness to
enter and clear the Imam Ali shrine was undoubtedly a key factor in
enabling Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani to persuade members of the Mahdi
militia to lay down their arms and leave the shrine.
In another highly successful operation several days ago, the Iraqi
counterterrorist force conducted early-morning raids in Najaf that
resulted in the capture of several senior lieutenants and 40 other
members of that militia, and the seizure of enough weapons to fill
nearly four 7 1/2-ton dump trucks.
Within the next 60 days, six more regular army and six additional
Intervention Force battalions will become operational. Nine more
regular army battalions will complete training in January, in time to
help with security missions during the Iraqi elections at the end of
that month.
Iraqi National Guard battalions have also been active in recent
months. Some 40 of the 45 existing battalions -- generally all except
those in the Fallujah-Ramadi area -- are conducting operations on a
daily basis, most alongside coalition forces, but many independently.
Progress has also been made in police training. In the past week
alone, some 1,100 graduated from the basic policing course and five
specialty courses. By early spring, nine academies in Iraq and one in
Jordan will be graduating a total of 5,000 police each month from the
eight-week course, which stresses patrolling and investigative skills,
substantive and procedural legal knowledge, and proper use of force
and weaponry, as well as pride in the profession and adherence to the
police code of conduct.
Iraq's borders are long, stretching more than 2,200 miles. Reducing
the flow of extremists and their resources across the borders is
critical to success in the counterinsurgency. As a result, with
support from the Department of Homeland Security, specialized training
for Iraq's border enforcement elements began earlier this month in
Jordan.
Regional academies in Iraq have begun training as well, and more will
come online soon. In the months ahead, the 16,000-strong border force
will expand to 24,000 and then 32,000. In addition, these forces will
be provided with modern technology, including vehicle X-ray machines,
explosive-detection devices and ground sensors.
Outfitting hundreds of thousands of new Iraqi security forces is
difficult and complex, and many of the units are not yet fully
equipped. But equipment has begun flowing. Since July 1, for example,
more than 39,000 weapons and 22 million rounds of ammunition have been
delivered to Iraqi forces, in addition to 42,000 sets of body armor,
4,400 vehicles, 16,000 radios and more than 235,000 uniforms.
Considerable progress is also being made in the reconstruction and
refurbishing of infrastructure for Iraq's security forces. Some $1
billion in construction to support this effort has been completed or
is underway, and five Iraqi bases are already occupied by entire
infantry brigades.
Numbers alone cannot convey the full story. The human dimension of
this effort is crucial. The enemies of Iraq recognize how much is at
stake as Iraq reestablishes its security forces. Insurgents and
foreign fighters continue to mount barbaric attacks against police
stations, recruiting centers and military installations, even though
the vast majority of the population deplores such attacks. Yet despite
the sensational attacks, there is no shortage of qualified recruits
volunteering to join Iraqi security forces. In the past couple of
months, more than 7,500 Iraqi men have signed up for the army and are
preparing to report for basic training to fill out the final nine
battalions of the Iraqi regular army. Some 3,500 new police recruits
just reported for training in various locations. And two days after
the recent bombing on a street outside a police recruiting location in
Baghdad, hundreds of Iraqis were once again lined up inside the force
protection walls at another location -- where they were greeted by
interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
I meet with Iraqi security force leaders every day. Though some have
given in to acts of intimidation, many are displaying courage and
resilience in the face of repeated threats and attacks on them, their
families and their comrades. I have seen their determination and their
desire to assume the full burden of security tasks for Iraq.
There will be more tough times, frustration and disappointment along
the way. It is likely that insurgent attacks will escalate as Iraq's
elections approach. Iraq's security forces are, however, developing
steadily and they are in the fight. Momentum has gathered in recent
months. With strong Iraqi leaders out front and with continued
coalition -- and now NATO -- support, this trend will continue. It
will not be easy, but few worthwhile things are.
The writer, an Army lieutenant general, commands the Multinational
Security Transition Command in Iraq. He previously commanded the 101st
Airborne Division, which was deployed in Iraq from March 2003 until
February 2004.