DMac
16th July 2010, 09:01 AM
General who said it was 'fun to shoot people' takes over US Central Command (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7880617/General-who-said-it-was-fun-to-shoot-people-takes-over-US-Central-Command.html)
snip
General James Mattis, the current head of the US Joint Forces Command and who previously led troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, had widely been tipped as the next head of Central Command. President Barack Obama must formalise the nomination, which then goes to Congress for approval.
Centcom, as it is known, oversees operations in a volatile swathe of the world that covers 20 countries and stretches from Egypt across the Middle East and into south and central Asia.
The former Centcom chief, General David Petraeus, vacated the post after agreeing to assume command of the Afghan war after McChrystal and aides were quoted making disparaging remarks about President Barack Obama and top aides in a Rolling Stone magazine article.
snip
General James Mattis, the current head of the US Joint Forces Command and who previously led troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, had widely been tipped as the next head of Central Command. President Barack Obama must formalise the nomination, which then goes to Congress for approval.
Centcom, as it is known, oversees operations in a volatile swathe of the world that covers 20 countries and stretches from Egypt across the Middle East and into south and central Asia.
The former Centcom chief, General David Petraeus, vacated the post after agreeing to assume command of the Afghan war after McChrystal and aides were quoted making disparaging remarks about President Barack Obama and top aides in a Rolling Stone magazine article.