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Don't think for a moment that Gen. David Petraeus is stepping down as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, no matter what's printed in the Times of London. The paper reported yesterday that Petraeus would be out by year's end, prompting a cross-continental round of vociferous denial.
The Times says (behind a paywall, alas) that the "search is on" for Petraeus' successor, suggesting the man who commanded the surge in Iraq and oversees the intensification of the Afghanistan war is already yesterday's news. But Petraeus is big on withdrawing only as conditions on the ground merit. Asked if there was any truth to the Times report, Col. Erik Gunhus, Petraeus' spokesman, told Danger Room simply, "No."
Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon spokesman, emailed reporters: "Despite some sensational speculation by one of the London papers, I can assure you General Petraeus is not quitting as ISAF commander, but nor does he plan to stay in Afghanistan forever. Obviously he will rotate out at some point, but that point has not yet been determined and I can assure you it will not occur anytime soon. Until then, he will continue to brilliantly lead our coalition forces in Afghanistan."
Petraeus' director of strategic communications, Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, endorsed Morrell's statement and added: "To be honest we're just not touching the speculation game on when [Petraeus] will depart. He is very focused on the mission and outside of the media query that got this ball rolling; it just hasn't been part of the landscape here."
So can we put this one to rest now? The upcoming departure of Adm. Mike Mullen as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff makes it temping to imagine that Petraeus would step into the top officer spot (albeit one outside the chain of command). But short of Petraeus vowing to stay in Afghanistan until the war's conclusion, the fusillade of denials ought to suffice that he's locked in on doing his current job. There's poetic justice here: his letter to NATO troops last month sidestepped any talk of drawdowns in 2011, so it's only fitting that the commander would want to see things through.
Photo: Flickr/ISAF
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