US names Gen. Casey as new top commander in Iraq
(Agencis)
Updated: 2004-06-16 11:06

U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated Gen. George Casey, the No. 2 officer in the Army, to become the top U.S. commander in Iraq, replacing Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who has come under scrutiny in the prisoner abuse scandal, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Gen. George Casey, the No. 2 officer in the Army, has been nominated to become the top U.S. commander in Iraq, replacing Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who has come under scrutiny in the prisoner abuse scandal, the Pentagon said on June 15, 2004. Casey has served as vice chief of staff for the Army since last October, playing a key role in the day-to-day operations of the service. Casey is at the Pentagon in this May 4 file photo. [Reuters]

Casey has served as vice chief of staff for the Army since last October, playing a key role in the day-to-day operations of the service. His father was Maj. Gen. George Casey, who in 1970 became the most senior U.S. military officer killed during the Vietnam War, dying in a helicopter crash in Cambodia.

Casey, whose nomination by U.S. President Bush requires Senate confirmation, is pegged to head a restructured military leadership in Iraq, the Pentagon said. If confirmed, he would become the only four-star U.S. officer in Iraq. Sanchez is a three-star general.

Pentagon officials have described Casey's job as the overall commander of the 138,000 U.S. and 22,000 allied troops in Iraq, responsible for the broad direction of coalition military affairs while dealing with the new Iraqi government.

A three-star general under Casey will handle day-to-day military operations. Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz already has begun serving in that capacity. Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, will continue to oversee military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pentagon officials last month disclosed the decision to replace Sanchez as top commander in Iraq, a job he has held since June 2003, and said Casey had emerged as the favorite.

During Sanchez's stint, U.S. forces captured fugitive former President Saddam Hussein and killed his two sons, but failed to crush a tenacious insurgency heading into this month's handover of some power to an interim Iraqi government. Sanchez also has been caught up in the scandal over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail outside Baghdad late last year.

ABUSE SCANDAL

The Pentagon said last week that Sanchez had asked to be removed as the officer who reviews an ongoing investigation into the prisoner abuse by Maj. Gen. George Fay in order to allow his own conduct to be scrutinized.

Sanchez last year ordered military intelligence to take control of Abu Ghraib, but has denied knowledge of the abuse before the chain of command was notified in January. Some of the soldiers charged in the scandal have said their actions stemmed from directions from military intelligence.

Sanchez also was involved in devising prisoner interrogation methods for use in Iraq, some of which deviated from long-standing military practices.

Bush on May 25 said Sanchez "has done a fabulous job," and defense officials said his replacement was planned simply because he had served in the job for a long period of time and not because of the abuse scandal.

The Pentagon announced several other nominations.

Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James E. Cartwright was named to become a four-star general and head U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees military space operations and is responsible for command and control of U.S. nuclear forces.

Navy Vice Adm. Timothy Keating, who commanded naval forces during the Iraq war, was nominated to the rank of admiral to head Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. Northern Command was created following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to take responsibility for U.S. homeland defense.

Lt. Gen. Richard Cody was nominated to become a four-star general and replace Casey as Army vice chief of staff.

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