Newswire:

General Petraeus’ Spiffy New Job

General Petraeus, big daddy of the surge, is getting a promotion. [NY Times]

Up till now, Petraeus has been in charge of U.S. troops in Iraq, but now Bush has nominated him to “head the United States Central Command, which oversees military operations across a wide swath of the Middle East, Africa and Asia,” including Afghanistan.

The guy who used to have the CENTCOM job? Admiral William Fallon, who stepped down last month after “a dispute with the Bush administration over perceived policy differences on Iran and reports that he had clashed with Petraeus over how deeply to draw down troop levels in Iraq.” [Bloomberg]

In other words: Fallon thought war with Iran was dumb, and that our military was overstretched in Iraq and needed to be redeployed. Can’t have that now, can we?

Who’s taking over for Petraeus in Iraq? His former deputy, Lieut. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who had just completed a 15-month tour in Iraq. General Odierno, consider yourself stop-lossed.

The analysis: “It would not have been surprising if General Petraeus’s next assignment had turned out to be a military-diplomatic post in Europe, or a similar slot. That he was tapped to run the Central Command instead indicated the importance the Pentagon places on the command and on America showing no sign of flagging in Iraq or Afghanistan.” Oh joy.

Remember: He still has to be confirmed by the Senate, and will probably remain in Iraq until “late summer or early fall,” according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. [NY Times]

Things to watch: During his testimony as commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Petraeus dodged questions about the allocation of resources to Iraq and Afghanistan saying Afghanistan wasn’t his responsibility. Well… now it is. [Wonk Room]

So, Gen. Petraeus, do you think it’s appropriate that we spend $12 billion a month taking sides in an Iraqi civil war among people who had nothing to do with September 11th while Afghanistan slips back under Taliban rule and Osama bin Laden goes free?

The Audio

• Defense Secretary Robert Gates announces his nomination. [Audio, :10]
• Gates says Petraeus is “the best man for the job.” [Audio, :05]

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