New commander in Iraq

As the Senate argues over how to word their disapproval of the mission in Iraq, the commander they praised and sent off to carry out that mission has arrived.

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.”

He talked about the dicey proposition he faces there.

“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.”

And he knows there are a lot of people, especially politicians and media, who doubt the new way forward is going to work.

“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, as he took command from 58-year-old Gen. George Casey…

While Petraeus spoke of “barbaric enemies who brag of inhuman acts … in the name of religion,” outgoing commander Casey, who will become Army chief of staff, spoke frankly about religious infighting that is tearing Iraq apart.

“It’s no secret that sectarian violence … has changed the dynamics of what Iraqis must face here on the ground,” he said. A new U.S. National Intelligence Estimate issued in Washington last week cited sectarian violence as the biggest security problem in Iraq.

“Everything’s not as I would have expected it to be or wanted it to be on my way out, but that’s kind of the way things are,” Casey said.

Part of the strategy adjustment is looking harder and more visibly at Iran.

The command swap is part of Bush’s overhaul of Iraq policy, including a new focus on Iran’s role. The administration has accused Tehran of funneling money and weapons to Shiite militiamen and Sunni insurgents in Iraq, and U.S. forces have launched raids on Iranian targets in Iraq.

But little evidence, such as documents or other items collected in the raids, has been made public.

That’s an important point. 

National security officials in Washington and Iraq have worked for weeks on a presentation intended to provide such evidence for the administration’s claims.

U.S. officials in Baghdad scheduled a briefing for reporters Sunday that was expected to detail allegations of Iranian involvement.

On Friday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters that serial numbers and other markings linked the Iranians to explosives used by insurgents in Iraq. His comments were among the Bush administration’s first public assertions about evidence the military has collected.

We’ll be hearing a lot more about that, evidently.