Substituting General David Petraeus, GeneralRaymond Odierno has become the US General in Iraq. After taking off from Iraq, General David Petraeus will take charge of the Central Command which is responsible for operations in the regions from Horn of Africa to central Asia, including the conflicts in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

The departing commander of US Army, according to Robert Gates (US Defense Secretary) was a brilliant strategist and had played a historic role in Iraq. Admittedly, both, Petraeus and his former deputy Odierno have played a big role in maintaining and sustaining an unpopular war in Iraq. Anti-insurgency strategy of General Petraeus has played a great role in diminishing violence in Iraq.

 

General Odierno will be handling Iraq when US elections are about to take place and the future of staying of US forces in Iraq after US presidential election is not determined. However, Robert Gates said that the challenge for General Odierno is to evolve methodology to preserve the gains that have already been achieved, and expand upon them even as the numbers of US forces are shrinking.