Following the success of the troop surge in Iraq General Petraeus, the architect of the plan, is moving up to be the head of US Central Command in the area. His new post oversees Iraq, and the growing war in Afghanistan. His former second-in-command, General Odierno, will take charge in Iraq and the fragile peace there. In this video, experts, recently returned from Iraq, discuss the metamorphosis of Generals Odierno and Petraeus as well as the changing political landscape in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Quotes "Well, I think General Odierno's major challenge will be trying to consolidate the security gains over the last year-and-a-half or so by pushing a number of political accords with Iraqi leaders." Colin Kahl, senior fellow at Center for a New American Security "I think the first thing [Petraeus will] do is take a good, hard look at the conflict and what we can reasonably expect to achieve, because we're not going to bring Afghanistan from the 17th century into the 21st century. That's just a non-starter." Linda Robinson, Author in residence at Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies "The primary mission for Petraeus will be to work with our NATO allies, to work with our commander in Afghanistan and to work with our diplomats in the region to really come up with a coherent strategy that links Afghanistan and Pakistan together." Colin Kahl, senior fellow at Center for a New American Security Warm Up Questions 1. Who is General Petraeus? 2. What is the troop surge in Iraq? Why did it happen? What did it accomplish? 3. Can you find Afghanistan and Pakistan on a map? Why is there fighting there? Discussion Questions 1. What do you think of General Odierno’s former heavy handed nature? 2. If you were head of command in Iraq would we be using an enemy-centric counterinsurgency or a population-centric approach? What are the pros and cons of each? 3. Why do you think General Petraeus moved up to this position? Who was in the position before him? 4. What do you expect General Petraeus to do in Afghanistan? Additional Resources Read this transcript NewsHour Coverage of Iraq NYTimes: General Petraeus's final letter to troops