re: Petraeus: Obama Iraq plan a good starting point

quote:

---

Please link, although I will try to find this myself. Curious to know what "led" means, maybe operational leadership not strategic.

---

It would take some effort, but the bottom line is I read them as part of a discussion from the Army War College. It talked about how General Petraeus shaped administration policy in regards to the surge (what is appropriate advice, etc). I never served in Iraq and really had not read much on the surge. The reality is General Odierno (MNF-I Deputy Commander) was in disagreement with General Casey (MNF-I Commander) (who was advocating the exact opposite to President Bush). Working hand in hand with General (Ret) Jack Keane and Stephen J. Hadley, he shaped the policy from theater. When President Bush decided to go forward with the surge he appointed General Petraeus to command MNF-I and kept General Odierno as his DCG. General Petraeus was in command but the surge policy was advocated by General Odierno (which also put him at odds with the service chiefs, they also wanted to cut their losses and move on).

TLDR - but it makes for a fascinating study.