Obama may well find that a move that saved him in June 2010 could complicate his life in July 2011, when Democrats hope the president will be seeking an exit ramp from Afghanistan – especially if Petraeus decides that a stick-it-out strategy is the only way to succeed…
The CENTCOM commander, currently based in Tampa, was already in Washington for meetings at the Pentagon when the McChrystal situation exploded but reportedly had no heads-up he was being considered as a replacement.
Administration officials say Petraeus was really the only serious choice for the job — a move that will force him to relocate from an American vacation spot to an Afghan war zone — and quickly accepted when Obama offered him McChrystal’s post on Wednesday.
A senior Pentagon official says Petraeus is “fired up” to get to Afghanistan as soon as possible and is looking forward to confirmation hearings as early as next week.
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