By Ann Roosevelt

Army Gen. David Petraeus was nominated yesterday by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to move from command of Multinational Force Iraq to lead U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), pending Senate approval.

“I recommended him to the president because I am absolutely confident he is the best man for the job,” Gates said at a Pentagon briefing. “The kinds of conflicts we are dealing with not just in Iraq, but in Afghanistan and some of the challenges that we face elsewhere in the region in the CENTCOM area are very much characterized by asymmetric warfare. And I don’t know anybody in the United States military better qualified to lead that effort.”

From Baghdad, Petraeus said, “I am honored to be nominated for this position and to have an opportunity to continue to serve with America’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guardsmen, and civilians.”

To replace Petraeus, Gates said the administration wants to move Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno back to Iraq after only about two months at home. It also means withdrawing Odierno’s nomination as Army vice chief of staff. Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli will be nominated for a fourth star and for the position of Army vice chief of staff. Chiarelli is currently Gates’ senior military advisor.

Gates said he expects the paperwork to move forward quickly and “[b]ecause of the complexity of this series of moves, I respectfully ask the Senate to move on them expeditiously, hopefully by Memorial Day.”

No problems are anticipated with the Petraeus nomination, and Gates said he’s already spoken with Senate Armed Services Comittee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), long term SASC member and former chairman.

It should be a smooth turn over to Odierno, Gates said. Odierno is a known entity in Iraq, with current experience and personal relationships that should promote continued progress–“the odds of that are better with him than with anybody else I could identify.”

The personnel moves are to fill the gap left by Navy Adm. William Fallon’s March decision to step down as CENTCOM commander. Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, Fallon’s deputy commander has been acting CENTCOM commander since then.

Because Odierno served directly under Petraeus for the past year, his assumption of the Iraq command with Petraeus at CENTCOM “probably preserves the likelihood of continued momentum and progress,” Gates said.

Gates doesn’t expect Petraeus to leave Iraq until late summer or early fall.