- In full:
- David Howell Petraeus
David Petraeus
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Who is David Petraeus?
David Petraeus (born in 1952) is a retired U.S. Army general and public official who held several high-ranking military and intelligence positions. He was commander in chief of Central Command (Centcom) from 2008 to 2010, overseeing U.S. military operations across 25 countries from Africa to Central Asia. Before that, he headed multinational forces in Iraq (2007–08) and later became commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan (2010–11). In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed him Director of the CIA, a position he held until 2012. He retired from the military in August 2011.
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What is the United States Central Command (CENTCOM)?
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) is the U.S. military branch responsible for protecting American security interests in a region covering 20 countries from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia. CENTCOM, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, was established by President Ronald Reagan on January 1, 1983, to replace the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force.
David Petraeus served as commander in chief of CENTCOM from 2008 to 2010. Before this role, he headed multinational forces in Iraq (2007–08), and later, he commanded U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan (2010–11).
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What role did David Petraeus have in the U.S. military?
David Petraeus served in the U.S. Army, commanding multinational forces in Iraq (2007–08). He then became commander in chief of Central Command (Centcom) from 2008 to 2010, with responsibility for U.S. military operations across 25 countries from the Horn of Africa through the Middle East to Central Asia. In 2010, he was named commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. He retired from the military in August 2011.
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Which regions or countries does CENTCOM oversee?
As commander in chief of CENTCOM (2008–10), David Petraeus headed an organization responsible for all U.S. military operations in a region spanning from the Horn of Africa through the Middle East to Central Asia.
CENTCOM oversees an area of 20 countries, including Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula and northern Red Sea, and the five republics of Central Asia. CENTCOM is responsible for protecting American security interests in this region.
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What were some key challenges Petraeus faced as head of CENTCOM?
As head of Centcom (2008-2010), David Petraeus was responsible for all U.S. military operations in 25 countries stretching from the Horn of Africa through the Middle East to Central Asia. Previously, as commander of multinational forces in Iraq, Petraeus had faced challenges reducing violence amidst controversy over increased troop levels. In 2010, after Gen. Stanley McChrystal was relieved of his command, Petraeus was named commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
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How did David Petraeus influence U.S. military strategy in the Middle East?
David Petraeus, as commander in chief of Central Command (Centcom), directed U.S. military operations across 25 countries, from Africa through the Middle East to Central Asia. Prior to this role, in January 2007, President Bush appointed Petraeus to command multinational forces in Iraq, where he implemented a strategy to secure Baghdad by increasing troop levels by 30,000. Eight months later, Petraeus reported to Capitol Hill that these increased troop levels had substantially reduced violent attacks.
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David Petraeus (born November 7, 1952, Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.) is a U.S. army general who was appointed by Pres. George W. Bush to head multinational forces in Iraq (2007–08) and who later served as commander in chief of Central Command (Centcom; 2008–10) and as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan (2010–11). He later was director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; 2011–12).
Petraeus was the son of Dutch American parents. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1974, he was commissioned into the infantry as a second lieutenant. Later, as a captain, he spent two years at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where he earned a Master of Public Administration degree in 1985 and a doctorate in 1987 in international relations. In his doctoral dissertation, Petraeus dealt with the lessons learned by the United States in the Vietnam War and contended that the U.S. failure in Vietnam left the United States reluctant to use military force in other conflicts. In 1991 Petraeus was nearly killed after being accidentally shot in the chest with an M16 rifle by a soldier who tripped during a training exercise; he required nearly five hours of surgery.
Among his many staff and command appointments, Petraeus served as chief operations officer (1995) for the United Nations mission to help establish democracy in Haiti and as assistant chief of staff for operations (2001–02) for the multinational Stabilization Force sent by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to enforce a cease-fire in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He first led troops into battle as commander of the 101st Airborne Division during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 (see Iraq War). Following the end of major combat operations, the division was responsible for the northern city of Mosul. In addition to maintaining security, the division was charged with rebuilding the local economy and establishing democratic institutions in the city. In June 2004 Petraeus was chosen to head both the Multi-National Security Transition Command—Iraq and the NATO Training Mission—Iraq. In the latter role he was responsible for organizing and training Iraqi military and police forces. In October 2005 Petraeus was appointed to head the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, home to several army training schools. While at Leavenworth, he coauthored the army’s new official manual on counterinsurgency warfare.
In January 2007 Bush appointed Petraeus to command the multinational forces in Iraq, and his nomination won unanimous approval in the U.S. Senate. He immediately began implementing a plan to secure Baghdad and the surrounding area. Petraeus, elevated from the rank of lieutenant general to full (four-star) army general, sought to reduce levels of violence with a surge of an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to reinforce the 132,000 already fighting in Iraq. The increased troop levels—called for by the Bush administration as part of its revised war strategy—proved controversial as opposition to the Iraq War mounted. Eight months after his appointment, Petraeus went to Capitol Hill to testify about overall progress in the war and reported that the incidence of violent attacks had declined substantially.
In April 2008 he was nominated to succeed Adm. William J. Fallon as head of Centcom, the organization responsible for all U.S. military operations in an area spanning 25 countries and stretching from the Horn of Africa through the Middle East to Central Asia. Petraeus was easily confirmed by the Senate in July. In September 2008 he stepped down as commander in Iraq, and the following month he took charge of Centcom. After Gen. Stanley McChrystal was relieved of his command in June 2010, Petraeus was named commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The following year Pres. Barack Obama selected Petraeus to succeed Leon Panetta as director of the CIA; Petraeus was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in June. The following month he stepped down as commander in Afghanistan, and he retired from the military at the end of August. Petraeus was sworn in as director of the CIA a week later. In 2012 he resigned the post, citing an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell, an Army Reserve officer who had been writing his biography. It later emerged that, in order to assist her research, he had given Broadwell personal notebooks that contained classified information. In 2015 Petraeus pled guilty to a misdemeanour charge of removing and retaining classified materials. He was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.
Petraeus’s honours included the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Defense Superior Service Medal, four awards of the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal with “V device” (given for valour).
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