Petraeus Departs, Praising Troops
At his farewell ceremony, General David Petraeus - commander of the U.S. troops in Iraq until this week - praised his troops, and encouraged them to carry on with the mission on the path established by him.
Your great work, sacrifice, courage, and skill have helped to reverse a downward spiral toward civil war and to wrest the initiative from the enemies of the new Iraq,” Petraeus wrote in a letter dated September 15 — Monday — and posted on the Web site of the Multi-National Force in Iraq. 
“You have not just secured the Iraqi people, you have served them, as well,” Petraeus writes, praising his forces as “builders and diplomats as well as guardians and warriors.”
“Although our tasks in Iraq are far from complete and hard work and tough fights lie ahead, you have helped bring about remarkable achievements,” he wrote, adding a firm “Thank You!” at the bottom.
Petraeus has, according to many and on both sides of the aisle, accomplished the impossible in Iraq; by working with Iraqi leaders, sectarian leaders, and yes, militants he was able to bring relative peace and order to the formerly war-torn country, they say.
He wrote a handbook on counterinsurgency which radically altered both the U.S. approach and the results. Instead of merely ‘taking’ regions, cities, villages and neighborhoods from which militants attacked the allied and central government’s forces, he taught his troops to ‘hold’ them. Petraeus additionally was able to convince sectarian leaders and Iraqi tribes, especially Sunnis, to turn against Al Qaeda and to work with him.
His success resulted in him being promoted to head of U.S. Central Command, which operates in the Middle East. He will be succeeded by his number two man General Ray Odierno.
