BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 10, 2007
Gen.: Without Cooperation, Iraq "Doomed"
Petraeus Takes Control Of American Forces In Iraq, Says Mission Is "Doable"
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General David Petraeus, second from left, is handed a flag by a staff member for Gen. George Casey, second from right, as he takes over as top commander for U.S. troops in Iraq at a ceremony at Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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An Iraqi army soldier guards a Sunni mosque in Baghdad's volatile Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Iraq, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007. Iraqi commanders are urging the Americans to go after Sunni targets as the first focus of the military push to secure Baghdad, displaying a sectarian tilt that is delaying full implementation of the plan to drive gunmen from the streets, U.S. officers say. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
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Interactive New Plan For Iraq Key elements of the plan, excerpts from the president's speech, reaction and more.
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Photo Essay Hunting The Insurgency CBS News' Cami McCormick goes on patrol with U.S. troops in southern Baghdad
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Gen. David Petraeus took command of the 135,000-strong U.S. force, declaring "we will have to share the burdens and move forward together. If we can do that and if we can help the people of Iraq, the prospects of success are good.
"Failing that, Iraq will be doomed to continued violence and civil strife."
Standing under a crystal chandelier that spanned 30 feet of the ceiling in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, Petraeus said the task before him was "exceedingly challenging."
"The stakes are very high. The way ahead will be hard, and there undoubtedly will be many tough days. But as I recently told members of the U.S. Senate, hard is not hopeless."
Petraeus, who has served two previous tours in Iraq, takes over from Gen. George Casey who becomes Army chief of staff.
In a letter to U.S. troops in Iraq, Petraeus said "in the end, Iraqis will decide the outcome of this struggle. Our task is to help them gain the time they need to save their country."
The change in command was part of President Bush's overhaul of Iraq policy that includes deployment, by the end of May, of 21,500 additional American forces in Iraq, most of them in Baghdad.
"Our job in the months ahead ... will be to improve security so that the Iraqi government can resolve the tough issues it faces, and so that the economy and basic services can be improved," Petraeus said. "These tasks are achievable. This mission is doable."
At the ceremony marking the change of command, Petraeus sat alongside Casey and Army Gen. John Abizaid, the outgoing Central Command chief. A U.S. Army band of the 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas, played the U.S. and Iraqi national anthems before the presentation of the flags.
Also in attendance were U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie and Iraqi Lt. Gen. Aboud Gambar, commander of Iraqi troops in the Baghdad security operation.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was absent.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies met Petraeus on Friday and discussed the security plan and "appropriate ways to reach security and stability and annihilate terrorism," a government statement said.
Before the change of command, outgoing Iraq commander Casey said he was confident Iraqis would be ready to take control of their own security by the end of this year, but acknowledged progress was slower in Baghdad than the rest of the country.
"It's no secret that sectarian violence ... has changed the dynamics of what Iraqis must face here on the ground. But when Iraqis want something to happen, it happens," he told reporters.
Casey said failure in Iraq would be tied to the people's inability to put the past behind them.
"We liberated them from 35 years of tyranny but we can't liberate them from the fears and the prejudices that grew in those 35 years," he said. "I think they'll get past it, but if they don't, it'll be difficult."
Casey said he felt "a little numb" about leaving Iraq after 2½ years.
"But I go away with great feeling of pride because we've laid the foundation for Iraq's ultimate success.
"Everything's not as I would have expected it to be or wanted it to be on my way out, but that's kind of the way things are," the departing general said.
Casey said he was still too close to the situation to evaluate his tenure but said he had a sense of where criticism could arise.
"The main point people will debate is whether I relied too much on Iraqi forces to carry the security load and too little on coalition forces," he said. "But I'm certainly not ready to say that's a mistake. I'll let history judge that."
In Other Developments:
soldiers were searching for a weapons cache and clearing a building
in Diyala province, where U.S. and Iraqi forces have been battling
Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias for months around the city of
Baqouba. The soldiers' identities were not released pending notification
of relatives. The deaths raised to 36 the number of American troop deaths so
far this month. At least 3,120 members have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
into one house and killing a man, his wife and their 23-year-old daughter in Musayyib, 40 miles south of Baghdad. The gunmen then attacked a second house, wounding a husband and wife, according to police. The ambush came a day after gunmen dressed in Iraqi army uniforms swept into a nearby Shiite village, kidnapping 13 civilians and killing at least 11 of them.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Add a Comment See all 275 Comments
- didn't lie haji..........
if you are going to be a fascist nazi islamic muslim collaborator, at least be a proud one... hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha - Reply to this comment
- The lady doth protest too much, methinks
Posted by lars008 at 10:36 AM : Feb 11, 2007
I note you can not defend your lies, liar lars. Says it all....... - Reply to this comment
- The lady doth protest too much, methinks
- Reply to this comment
- liar lars-
You LIE when you say tha Islam is a violation of international law.
You LIE when you say I defend Nazi Germany.
You LIE when you say I defend Nazi Islam.
You are simply a chronic BALD FACED LIAR, lars. - Reply to this comment
- you have proved it yourself over and over again you fascist nazi islamic muslim sympathyzer....
Posted by lars008 at 10:22 AM : Feb 11, 2007
Here we go again.... Show me a post where I've sympathized with "Nazi Muslims".
You simply can't. But that doesn't stop you from lying right out your a$$ does it, liar lars?
The fact that you have to invent lies to bolster you position shows that you have no position to begin with. - Reply to this comment
- you have proved it yourself over and over again you fascist nazi islamic muslim sympathyzer....
- Reply to this comment
- All you have is childish name calling in your bag, liar lars.
You can't man up and admit that you get caught talking our your a$$, so you resort to calling people collaborators and such silly c r a p. - Reply to this comment
- it is obvious to the most casual observer haji.....
Posted by lars008 at 10:18 AM : Feb 11, 2007
PROVE IT, liar lars. PROVE IT. - Reply to this comment
- it is obvious to the most casual observer haji.....
- Reply to this comment
- I've proven my contention that you are a bald faced liar, lars. Now prove yours that I am a "fascist nazi islamic muslim collaborator".
- Reply to this comment
- you must be a fascist nazi islamic muslim collaborator..... just like there were fascist nazi german collaborators........
Posted by lars008 at 10:12 AM : Feb 11, 2007
You have some proof of that, LIAR LARS? - Reply to this comment
- silly stupid simple minded fascist nazi islamic muslims........ hahahahaha
you must be a fascist nazi islamic muslim collaborator..... just like there were fascist nazi german collaborators........ - Reply to this comment
- you defend fascist nazi islam.......
there is no difference in defending fascist nazi germany haji......
Posted by lars008 at 09:57 AM : Feb 11, 2007
Thanks for proving to all that you are indeed, A BALD FACED LIAR. - Reply to this comment
- you defend fascist nazi islam.......
there is no difference in defending fascist nazi germany haji...... - Reply to this comment
- C'mon LIAR lars, show me the post.
- Reply to this comment
- do you defend fascist nazi germany as well haji... hahahahahahahahaha
i knew you would.... hahahahahahahaha
Posted by lars008 at 09:49 AM : Feb 11, 2007
Show mw a post where I've defended Nazi Germany.
You are nothing but a bald faced liar, lars. - Reply to this comment
- your the joke haji.......... hahahahahahaha
trying to defend fascist nazi islam... hahahahahaha
do you defend fascist nazi germany as well haji... hahahahahahahahaha
i knew you would.... hahahahahahahaha - Reply to this comment
- MUDSCUM CLERIC TEACHES KIDS ABOUT MARTYRDOM
Posted by lars008 at 09:45 AM : Feb 11, 2007
Too bad you don't believe in martyrdom, lars..... - Reply to this comment
- ISLAM SPREADING HATE & INTOLERANCE!!!
Muslim students 'being taught to despise unbelievers as filth'
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2142403,00.html
http://www.shoebat.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaUftcRJ5wo&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbaconeatingatheistj ew%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F
http://thepeoplescube.com/Islam.php
Walid Shoebat One Less Terrorist
One Less Terrorist
http://www.arutzsheva.com/article.php3?id=3986
Brigitte Gabriel explodes Mideast 'lies'
Israeli Arab explodes Mideast 'lies'
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43175
Islam: What the West Needs to Know
http://www.whatthewestneedstoknow.com/
http://www.whatthewestneedstoknow.com/press_release.asp
http://alwaysonwatch.blogspot.com/2006/07/go-see-this-movie_09.html - Reply to this comment
- MUDSCUM CLERIC TEACHES KIDS ABOUT MARTYRDOM
"Egyptian Cleric Sheik Muhammad Nassar Tells a Group of Children about Child Martyrdom in the Early Days of Islam
Following are excerpts from a children's program hosted by Egyptian cleric, Sheik Muhammad Nassar, which aired on Al-Nas TV on June 15, 2006. Sheik Nassar is identified by Al-Nas TV as a preacher at the Egyptian ministry of religious endowment:
Sheik Muhammad Nassar: Let's listen to a very beautiful story to learn about the courage of a child, and how, when a child is brought up in a good home, and receives proper education in faith, he loves martyrdom, which becomes like an instinct for him. He can never give it up."
http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1185
The unholy past of the Muslim cleric demanding the Pope's execution
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23367406-details/The+unholy past of the Muslim cleric demanding the Pope's execution/article.do - Reply to this comment
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
