IRAQ:The hands of a top US strategist in Iraq were tied by the Bush administration and by the situation in Iraq, write Ann Scott Tysonand Josh White
Gen John Abizaid rose to become the top American commander for the Middle East in July 2003 with impeccable credentials for the job: a Lebanese American who speaks Arabic with a master's degree in Middle Eastern studies from Harvard, Abizaid was considered a soldier's soldier.
But Abizaid's announcement on Wednesday that he will retire in March after almost four years as a chief architect of US Iraq strategy comes as violence drives civilian and military casualties there to record highs and as officials broadly say the US military campaign is at a stalemate.
The departure of the general, who has won wide respect for his candid advice to the administration as the head of US Central Command, was expected and is not seen as an indication of his own displeasure or that of superiors over his performance.
"I think the time is right and it has nothing to do with dissatisfaction," Abizaid told reporters in Baghdad.
His decision creates an opportunity for President George Bush, with the recommendation of defence secretary Robert Gates, to name a commander who will take a fresh approach as they weigh alternative military strategies.
Supporters portray Abizaid (55) as a brilliant commander who did his best, despite constraints from Washington, to adapt the US military to fight an unanticipated guerrilla war - which he was among the first to identify - and later the unexpected outbreak of sectarian violence. "Understanding how difficult the job is, nobody's done it better than John Abizaid," said a Pentagon official who as an army general worked with Abizaid.
Critics however say Abizaid has placed too much emphasis on Arab sensitivity to foreign occupation and therefore never demanded enough US troops to stabilise the country.
"He was too smart by half," another US officer said.
Abizaid has made clear his continued opposition to a major surge of US troops in Iraq beyond the current 140,000, arguing that it would perpetuate a mentality of dependency by Iraqi forces and increase resistance among Iraq's population.
The widespread expectation within the military has been that Abizaid will be succeeded by Lt Gen David Petraeus, who led the 101st Airborne Division in the invasion and early occupation of Iraq and later returned to head the effort to train Iraqi army and police forces.
Gen George Casey jnr, the top US commander in Iraq, is also expected to leave his post in the spring; some Pentagon officials predict he will be followed by Marine Lt Gen James Mattis.
Abizaid's replacement will face the same immediate constraints: overstretched US ground forces and the need to be able to respond to other contingencies in the region, such as a further escalation of fighting in Afghanistan or a serious showdown with Iran.
Abizaid recently acknowledged that more US troops, as well as Iraqi forces and international forces, "should have been available" to stabilise Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the US-led invasion in March of 2003.
"General Shinseki was right," Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee, referring to then-army chief of staff Eric Shinseki's prediction before the war - dismissed by the Pentagon - that several hundred thousand troops would be required to occupy Iraq.
Abizaid also made clear that his plans for a significant withdrawal of US troops from Iraq this year were aborted by a major, unanticipated outbreak of sectarian violence spurred by the February bombing of a Shia mosque in Samarra.
Yet he has argued that the army and marine corps, which face serious shortages of manpower and equipment, could simply not sustain a surge of 20,0000 troops into Iraq.
Some described Abizaid as having his hands tied by both the Bush administration in Washington and situations in Iraq that were beyond his control.
Senator Jack Reed, who has been friends with Abizaid for more than three decades and served with him in the 82nd Airborne Division in the mid-1970s, said he was "probably the most capable person we could have had because of his experience and his talent and his commitment to the troops he leads".
But Reed said decisions made by former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top government leaders put Abizaid in a very difficult position.
"I always got the sense the mission was under-resourced and vaguely defined," he said.