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Pentagon ponders appointment of four-star general in Iraq

PLA Daily 2004-01-08

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- United States Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday he is considering appointing a four-star US general to handle security aspects of Iraq's transition to self-rule.

"It may very well be that we will want to make an adjustment," Rumsfeld told a Pentagon briefing.

However, no final decision had been made after discussions with General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld said the command structure will be reorganized as the United States moves towards restoring Iraq's sovereignty by July 1.

Military operations in Iraq are now directed by three-star Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez at the tactical level. He, in turn, reports to General John Abizaid, commander of the US Central Command, who is overseeing military operations not only in Iraq but throughout the region.

Pentagon officials said the restructuring would enable Sanchez and Abizaid to focus on winning the war against insurgents made upof Saddam Hussein's loyalists and foreign militants, said the Washington Times, which first reported the proposal.

At the Pentagon briefing, Rumsfeld said Abizaid had a large region to oversee and a "whole host of things he has to think through." He said the proposal was one of two dozen or more issuesunder consideration as part of the transition toward Iraq self-rule.