Petraeus, Odierno Confirmed by Senate with Two Dems Opposing

GEN David Petraeus was confirmed by the Senate as the new commander of Central Command in the Middle East (CENTCOM) while LT GEN Ray Odierno was promoted to 4-star GEN and confirmed to replace GEN Petaeus as Multi-National Force-Iraq commander in Iraq.

The Senate voted 95-2 for Petraeus and 96-1 for Odierno with Democratic Senators Robert Byrd and Tom Harkin opposing Petraeus, Harkin opposing Odierno.

While it’s unclear why Harkin of Iowa opposed the pair, D-WVa Byrd said he thinks Petraeus should finish the job in Iraq, saying:

“It does not seem prudent to remove the mastermind behind the fragile successes that have been thus far achieved.”

I suspect both Byrd and Harkin are pandering to their anti-war base, although it is true that Byrd has exhibited a complete lack of understanding military and counterinsurgency operations on the ground in Iraq.

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Comments

[J Rob]

Byrd just thinks his prior association with an organization of cowards who practiced lynching while wearing masks gives him an understanding of the military