JNN 06 Sep 2011 : Newly retired General David Petraeus was sworn in as CIA director on Tuesday, taking over at a time when the line between the U.S. spy agency and the military has become increasingly blurred in the fight against militancy.
Petraeus took the oath of office at a White House ceremony led by Vice President Joe Biden.
President Barack Obama enlisted Petraeus to take over at the CIA as part of a major shuffle of his national security team that included Leon Panetta moving from CIA chief to defense secretary as successor to the retiring Robert Gates.
Petraeus is credited with helping to turn around the Iraq war and also set in motion Obama’s revamped strategy in Afghanistan aimed at halting the momentum of the Taliban insurgency and laying the groundwork for a gradual U.S. troop drawdown. Reuters
FACTS & FIGURES
General David Petraeus is best known for turning around the Iraq war in 2007 and is widely credited with devising the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy. ABC
Obama and Petraeus have dealt with one another warily since the president was a candidate. Obama was a vocal opponent of the Iraq war, opposed Bush’s troop surge policy and favored a fixed timetable for withdrawing troops. Petraeus was seen as Bush’s favorite general and the architect of the strategy employed under the surge policy. Washington Post
Former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal was fired by President Barack Obama after the commander and his aides made remarks in an explosive Rolling Stone magazine article criticizing Obama’s war policy. Obama nominated Gen. Petraeus to replace Gen. McChrystal. Fox News
A month after being named as General McChrystal’s replacement, General Petraeus publicly undermined Obama’s argument for a withdrawal in 2011. Freedom Syndicate
Petraeus also clashed with Obama in 2009 on the number of troops needed for a counter-insurgency campaign, demanding at least 40,000 reinforcements instead of the 30,000 sent. Freedom Syndicate
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