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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US Senate confirms Iraq commander | US Senate confirms Iraq commander |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The US Senate has unanimously confirmed veteran soldier Lt-Gen David Petraeus as the commander of US forces in Iraq. | |
| Lt-Gen Petraeus, who has spent two of the last four years in Iraq, replaces Gen George Casey. | |
| He assumes control as President George W Bush prepares to deploy thousands more troops there in a security drive. | |
| The news came as Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi arrived in Iraq on a surprise visit. | |
| Ms Pelosi, a Democrat and vocal critic of Mr Bush's plan to send more troops, held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. | |
| 'Not hopeless' | 'Not hopeless' |
| Lt-Gen Petraeus was unanimously approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. | Lt-Gen Petraeus was unanimously approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. |
| The situation in Iraq is dire. The stakes are high. There are no easy choices. The way ahead will be very hard. Lt-Gen David Petraeus Petraeus: Bush 'last hope' | |
| A career soldier, he graduated from the West Point military academy in 1974 and was commissioned in the infantry. | A career soldier, he graduated from the West Point military academy in 1974 and was commissioned in the infantry. |
| He has served in Europe and the Middle East and was commander of the 101st Airborne Division during the invasion of Iraq. | |
| Speaking to the senate committee on Tuesday, he backed Mr Bush's plan to deploy additional troops, but warned that the task in Iraq was a tough one. | |
| "The situation in Iraq is dire. The stakes are high. There are no easy choices. The way ahead will be very hard," he said. | "The situation in Iraq is dire. The stakes are high. There are no easy choices. The way ahead will be very hard," he said. |
| "But hard is not hopeless." | "But hard is not hopeless." |
| 'I make decisions' | |
| Mr Bush wants to commit more than 21,500 additional troops, mainly to violence-hit Baghdad, in an effort to improve security and end sectarian clashes. | |
| But his plan continues to face considerable opposition both from Democrats and members of his own Republican party, who want an earlier transfer of security to Iraqi leaders. | |
| In Baghdad, Mr Maliki assured Ms Pelosi that Iraq intended "to assume security missions currently handled by US-led forces in Iraq", a statement from the prime minister's office said. | |
| Ms Pelosi told journalists the meeting with Mr Maliki gave her "a greater understanding of the others' point of view". | |
| Back in Washington, Mr Bush accused opponents of his strategy of "condemning a plan before it's even had a chance to work". | |
| "I'm the decision-maker," he told senior military advisers during a meeting at the White House, the Associated Press news agency reported. | |
| And in a news conference after Lt-Gen Petraeus' confirmation, Mr Bush said that he had authorised US forces in Iraq to target Iranian agents there. | |
| "If somebody's trying to harm our troops, or stop us from achieving our goal, or killing innocent citizens in Iraq, we will stop them," he said. |