FACTBOX-Men-of-the-moment, Petraeus and Crocker
Source: Reuters
Sept 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Monday will receive a report on the state of war in Iraq from the U.S. commander on the ground, Gen. David Petraeus, and Washington's ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker. Following are some facts about Petraeus and Crocker: * Widely regarded as one of the Army's better commanders, Petraeus was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq on Jan. 26. * Petraeus told senators in January that the situation in Iraq was "dire" but not hopeless. * Before his latest promotion, Petraeus had been head of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. * Petraeus, a media-friendly warrior-scholar with a doctorate from Princeton University, has a reputation for viewing military power as much more than the use of force. * Petraeus led the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and won plaudits for working closely with local leaders to stabilize the northern city of Mosul, getting involved in everything from privatization to local elections. * Petraeus later led efforts to train Iraqi security forces and has overseen an overhaul of the U.S. military's counterinsurgency manual that stresses the importance of understanding local politics and culture. --- * Crocker was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq on March 6. * U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Crocker to succeed Zalmay Khalilzad in a shuffle of advisers announced in January. * Crocker, a career diplomat, had been Washington's ambassador to Pakistan since November 2004. * Previously, Crocker served as the first director of governance for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad from May to August 2003. * Crocker warned Americans on Aug. 16 that pulling U.S. troops out of the country could open the door to a "major Iranian advance" that would threaten U.S. interests in the region. * Crocker also accused Tehran of seeking to weaken the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government so that it could "by one means or another control it." Iran has denied U.S. charges that it is arming and training Shi'ite militias in Iraq.
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