New commander takes charge of U.S. forces in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Gen. David Petraeus took charge of U.S. forces in Iraq on Saturday, becoming the third commander in the war and declaring the American task now was to help Iraqis “gain the time they need to save their country.”

Petraeus took command under a glistening crystal chandelier in a former Saddam Hussein palace at Camp Victory.

The media-savvy, Princeton-educated Petraeus, 54, spoke bluntly of the task before him that coincides with President Bush’s decision to send an additional 21,500 U.S. troops to clamp off violence in Baghdad and nearby regions.

“We will have to share the burdens and move forward together. If we can do that and if we can help the people of Iraq, the prospects of success are good,” he said. “Failing that, Iraq will be doomed to continued violence and civil strife.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. military reported the deaths of three more American soldiers, killed in an explosion Friday in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi forces have battled Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias in Diyala for months.

The deaths raised to 36 the number of Americans killed in Iraq so far this month. At least 3,120 service members have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

At least 51 Iraqis were killed or found dead Saturday across the country. In one attack in central Baghdad, a car bomb exploded in a shopping district, killing six civilians and wounding 14.

Petraeus, whose appointment was announced in early January, takes command of the roughly 135,000-strong U.S. force in Iraq after two previous tours: what was seen as a highly successful stint as head of the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul, and a second tour in charge of training Iraqi forces.

Petraeus, who was only confirmed by the Senate on Jan. 26, assumed four-star general status in conjunction with taking over the command.

“The stakes are very high. The way ahead will be hard, and there undoubtedly will be many tough days. But as I recently told members of the U.S. Senate, hard is not hopeless,” said Petraeus, who took over for 58-year-old Gen. George Casey.

An adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the Iraqi government hoped Petraeus’ command would help a new joint U.S.-Iraqi security plan.

“It reflects the change in U.S. policy in Iraq. We have so much hope that the security plan will succeed and that he (Petraeus) will be part of that success,” said the adviser, Bassam al-Husseini.

Neither al-Maliki nor Iraqi President Jalal Talabani attended Saturday’s ceremony, though Talabani and his two deputies met Petraeus on Friday and discussed the security plan, a government statement said.

The effort to pacify Iraq, especially in Baghdad, also includes Sunni-Shiite reconciliation efforts.

On Saturday, dozens of Shiites and a handful of Sunnis gathered for the reopening of a Sunni mosque in Baghdad’s Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City. But the Sunni Endowment, which is in charge of all Sunni mosques across Iraq, gave a lukewarm response to the initiative.

“We cannot guarantee the return of displaced families to Sadr City … so the mosque that has no worshippers cannot relay its message,” the endowment said, adding it welcomed “any step to return things to the way they were before.”

Sadr City is the headquarters of the Mahdi Army, the militia of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The fighters are blamed for much of the sectarian killing that has targeted minority Sunnis in a year of revenge killings after al-Qaida in Iraq bombers destroyed an important Shiite shrine north of Baghdad.

Militia members are keeping a low profile and trying to improve their image as U.S. and Iraqi forces launch a security sweep that the Shiite-led government has promised would not spare Shiite militiamen or Sunni insurgents.

U.S. military death

Latest identification reported by the military of U.S. personnel killed in Iraq:

Marine Sgt. Maj. Joseph Ellis, 40, Ashland, Ohio; killed Wednesday in Anbar province; assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.